Australian Minor- scores after 6 rounds:

1 Taylor, Stephan James  4.5  18.5  22.0  
2 Katnic, Eddy 4.0 17.5 24.0 
3 Simmonds, Rex 4.0 16.0 18.5 
4 Parker, Trent 4.0 15.0 21.5 
5 5-7 McCulloch, Rob 3.5 19.5 21.5 
6 Eime, Roland 3.5 19.5 21.0 
7 Marks, Joe 3.5 18.0 25.5 
8 8 White, Corey 3.0 13.0 20.5 
9 9-11 Chiddy, Lance 2.0 9.0 19.0 
10 Kenmure, Jamie 2.0 9.0 18.0 
11 Sweeney, Matthew 2.0 7.0 20.5 
12 12 Chiddy, Rory 0.0 0.0 20.0

GM Kengis wins Australian Open Rapid Play - Report by Charles Zworestine:

The three GMs dominated, drawing all their individual games and thus seemingly heading for a three way tie. Unfortunately GM Hecht drew his last round game with junior Jason Hu, thus leaving Kengis (who ground down Moulthun Ly in the last round) and Johansen (who accepted all George Xie's last round sacrifices and came out on top) equal first on 6/7.

A two game blitz playoff was thus organised, where Darryl's time advantage proved decisive in the first game, but Kengis equalised with a winning attack in the second. The second two game blitz playoff then saw Kengis win the first game as Black, and then Darryl had to try to win an inferior ending in the second game. This proved beyond him, as Kengis won to win the playoff 2-0 and become Australian Open Rapidplay Champion for 2005.

Hecht had to content himself with third; Moulthun Ly and Chris Wallis shared the Under 2000 prize; Zhigen Wilson Lin won the Under 1600 prize (Sherab Guo-Yuthok second); and Sally Yu won the title of Australian Open Women's Rapidplay Champion for 2005.

Playoff One: Johansen Vs. Kengis; Tie
Playoff Two: Johansen Vs. Kengis; 0-2

1 Kengis, Edvins  6.0  24.0  34.0  25.5
2 Johansen, Darryl K 6.0 24.0 32.0 24.5
3 Hecht, Hans Joachim 5.5 22.5 31.5 24.5
4 Xie, George 5.0 22.5 31.5 23.0
5 Jordan, Bill 5.0 19.5 28.5 20.0
6 Hu, Jason 5.0 19.5 27.0 19.5
7 Gerdell, Frank 5.0 18.0 26.0 19.0
8 8-11 Ly, Moulthun 4.5 23.0 29.5 21.5
9 Chan, Jason 4.5 21.5 30.5 20.5
10 Wallis, Christopher 4.5 18.0 25.0 16.5
11 Lin, Zhigen Wilson 4.5 17.5 24.0 16.0
12 12-19 Tulevski, Vasil G 4.0 20.5 28.5 16.0
13 Guo-Yuthok, Sherab 4.0 19.0 26.0 15.0
14 Obst, James 4.0 18.5 26.0 17.0
15 Pyke, Malcolm L 4.0 18.5 25.5 18.0
16 Wongwichit, Phachara 4.0 17.5 25.5 17.0
17 Lugo, Ruperto 4.0 17.5 25.5 16.0
18 Ali, Mosaddeque 4.0 17.5 25.0 15.0
19 Dizdarevic, Mehmedalija 4.0 13.5 21.5 13.0
20 20-23 Yu, Derek 3.5 17.0 23.0 14.0
21 Kara, Barbaros 3.5 16.5 23.0 13.0
22 Lea, Tom 3.5 15.5 22.0 10.0
23 McCulloch, Rob 3.5 14.5 19.0 9.0
24 24-33 Voon, Richard 3.0 21.5 28.5 16.0
25 Mendes da Costa, Alex 3.0 20.5 29.0 13.0
26 Saint, Andrew 3.0 18.0 25.5 16.0
27 Chadwick, Charles 3.0 18.0 25.0 14.5
28 Vijayakumar, Rukman 3.0 18.0 23.5 12.5
29 Silas, Frank 3.0 15.0 22.0 11.0
30 Dragicevic, Domagoj 3.0 15.0 21.5 11.0
31 Vijayakumar, Rengan 3.0 14.5 20.0 8.0
32 Schon, Eugene 3.0 14.0 21.0 12.0
33 Forace, Lee 3.0 11.5 19.0 7.0
34 34-35 Van Dijk, Devrim 2.5 17.5 25.5 11.5
35 Arkins, Damien 2.5 14.0 18.5 8.5
36 36-41 Illingworth, Max 2.0 18.0 26.5 11.0
37 Beckman, John 2.0 17.0 22.5 10.0
38 Saint, Alexander 2.0 15.0 21.5 7.5
39 Stanisheff, Alex 2.0 15.0 19.5 7.5
40 Nour, James 2.0 14.5 20.5 7.0
41 Gray, Garvin 2.0 13.5 18.0 8.0
42 42-43 Kenmure, Jamie 1.5 12.0 16.0 2.5
43 Baxter, Craig 1.5 7.5 13.5 3.5
44 44 Yu, Sally 0.5 12.0 18.0 2.5

Australian Open Games

Wongwhicit, Pachara (1947)    --    Jordan, Bill (2348)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (5.10)   2005.01.02     1-0     B03

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Be3 Bf5 8. Nf3 e6 9.Be2 Nb4 10.Na3 c5 11.O-O Be7 12.Bf2 O-O 13.Nb5 cxd4 14.Nfxd4 Bg6 15.b3 Nd7 16.Bg3 Bc5 17.Kh1 Qb6 18.a3 Nc6 19.Nxc6 Qxc6 20.Bf3 Qc8 21.b4 a6 22.Nd6 Bxd6 23.Qxd6 Nb8 24.Rfd1 Nc6 25.Bh4!

Preventing ...Rd8 and maintaining a tight grip on the black position

The start of a change of scene

29...Bc6 30.Qe3! Qc7 31.Rd4! Kh7

32.Bf6!! Rh8

( 32...gxf6 33.Rh4 gives a quick checkmate )

Mendes Da Costa, Alex (1877)    --    Dizdarevic, Mehmedalija (1971)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (5.13)   2005.01.02     1-0     B01

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.O-O Bd6 7.Nc3 Qh5 8.h3 c6!? 9.hxg4 Nxg4 10.Re1 Nd7 11.Ne4 Bh2+ 12.Kf1 Bc7 13.Ng3! Bxg3 14. fxg3 Qh1+ 15.Ng1 Nh2+ 16.Kf2 Nf6 17.Bf3! h5 18.Nh3 Nhg4+ 19.Ke2 Qh2 20.Rh1 Qxg3 21.Bf4 Qh4 22.g3!

and the queen is trapped!

Johansen, Darryl (2485)    --    Sedina, Elena (2431)
2005 Lidums Australian Open  (6.2)   Mt Buller
2005.01.03     1/2-1/2     D23

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Nbd7 8.O-O Be7 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Nbd2 O-O 11.Nc4 Qa6 12.Bf4 Nb6 13.Bd6 Bxd6 14.Nxd6 Ne4 15.Nxf5 exf5 16.Qc2 Rfe8 17.Rfc1 Nd5 18.a3 Qb6 19.e3 g6 20.Ne5

( 23.Kf1 Nd2+ -+ )

( 25.Kf1?? Nxh2# )

Humphrey, Jonathan (2060)    --    Kengis, Edvins (2543)
2005 Lidums Australian Open  (6.3)   Mt Buller
2005.01.03     0-1     B42

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Be7 7.O-O d6 8. c4 Nf6 9.Nc3 b6 10.f4 Nbd7 11.Qe2 Bb7 12.Bd2 O-O 13.Rae1 Rc8 14.g4 e5 15. f5 h6 16.Nd5 b5!? 17.Ba5 Qe8 18.Nc7

Now black has a better endgame

30.Kg2 Bh4 31.Bd4 Qd6 32.Rf3 Qc6 33.a3 Re4 34.Re3 Qb7 35.Kf3 Qc7 36.Kg2 Rxe3 37.Qxe3 Qc2+ 38.Kh1 Kh7 39.Qe5 Qd1+ 40.Bg1 Qf3+ 41.Kh2 Bg5

D'Amore, Carlo (2448)    --    Guthrie, Aaron (2084)
2005 Lidums Australian Open  (6.4)   Mt Buller
2005.01.03     1-0     A04

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d6 4.d3 g6 5.O-O Bg7 6.c3 O-O 7.Nbd2 Nc6 8. e4 Rb8 9.Re1 b5 10.d4 cxd4 11.cxd4 Nd7 12.Nb3 a5 13.d5 Nce5 14.Nbd4

Now c6 is weak

14...Qb6 15.Be3 Qa6 16.b3 Nxf3+ 17.Bxf3 Ne5 18.Be2! h5 19.a4 Ng4 20.axb5 Qb6 21.Bxg4 Bxg4 22.f3

Bxd4?

( 22...Bd7 23.Nc6 Qxb5 24.Rxa5 Qxb3 25.Nxb8 Qxb8 26.Bd4 +- )

Wei, Michael (2043)    --    Xie, George (2351)
2005 Lidums Australian Open  (6.6)   Mt Buller
2005.01.03     0-1     B03

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8. Rc1 O-O 9.b3 e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.c5 N6d7 13.Nb5 Nc6 14.Nf3 h6 15.Bc4 e4 16.Nd2 Nde5 17.Nxe4 Nxc4 18.Rxc4 Ne5 19.Rc2 Bd7 20.a4 a6 21.Nbd6 f5 22.Nc3

f4! 23.Bd2 Nd3+ 24.Kf1 Nxc5 25.Bxf4 Nxb3 26.Nd5 Bxa4 27.Nb6 Nd4 28.Rc1

Rxd6!! 29.Bxd6 Bb5+ 30.Nc4

( 30.Ke1 Re8+ 31.Kd1 Be2+ 32.Kd2 Nb3+ 33.Kc2 Nxc1 34.Rxc1 Re6 -+ )

( 31...Bxc4+ 32.Rxc4 Nd2+ 33.Ke2 Nxc4 -+ )

Letters:

Consulting for a chess film:

Hello,

My name is John and Im currently producing a short film involving a chess match between two Polish mafia leaders.

What I need is a diagram of a game that involves a standard opening with no captures untill there is significant field position by both players, first capture should be black knight x white pawn.

Middlegame should involve white knight or white bishop x black pawn, white castling, maybe a queen trade, black knight x white bishop, any piece x black knight.

The endgame is more important to the plot. The two opponents are not masters, they would probably just be considered "good" players. One of them (black), is a confident, aggressive player who believes from the begining that he is going to win. In the endgame, there is a shot of the board, and then a superimposed image of the pieces some 5-10 moves ahead (or whatever is realistic). What he sees is a position that he believes will mate his opponent shortly after. The end of the film is that through a move that black did not forsee, white actually wins the game with a mate, preferably involving his knight or king (with one knight still present). The game is not a complete bloodbath, there should still be several pawns and a few other power pieces still on the board.

The model game does not have to be perfect, as you will not see the whole game in the film. I just need a model so that when we shoot the shots that actually show the board, there should be a natural progression in the game.

The film is an independent project being produced through Columbia College Chicago film school and we have already completed principal photography, but I need your help to get it done.

As this is an independent project with no budget, all I can offer those who submit the model used is credit in the film, and a copy once it's completed.

It's being shot on 16mm film and should turn out great; it will most likely be making its way around to festivals this spring.

Thankyou all for your help.

- John Jensen
Writer/Director/Producer

.....

Mitchell Byrne's letter last week provoked several replies - and a single recommendation! (To recap, Mitchell, aged 9, bemoaned the fact that both his dad and grandad beat him at chess, and asked for advice on which chess book he should read to even up the odds ...)

Paul,

Regarding the letter from Mitchell Byrne: There is a book which comes to mind - How to Beat Your Dad at Chess by Murray Chandler. I haven’t read it but I believe Murray is a reasonable author so you could probably do worse. You must admit, the title is appropriate.

Regards, Barry Cox

.....

Dear Mitchell,

It sounds as though the book you need is How to Beat Your Dad at Chess by Murray Chandler. However, as far as I know there is no follow-on book How to Beat Your Grandad at Chess.

Good luck!

- Richard Gastineau-Hills

.....

A couple of months ago I was browsing at Amazon and saw a book entitled "How to beat your Dad at chess" by Murray Chandler. I haven't read it myself, so have no idea whether it really is good for that purpose, but the title fits the bill and its targeted at 9-12 year-olds. One of the reviews at Amazon says:

Not for kids only, March 20, 2000
Reviewer: The McGuire Family (Bishop, CA United States)
I found the title to be an unfortunate choice; it makes the book look like a kids book. Kids will benefit, but so will anyone with a USCF rating below 1500. This is not a book about how to move the pieces. It doesn't outline basic strategy such as controlling the center, developing your pieces, or castling early. Instead, almost the entire book is devoted to "The 50 Deadly Checkmating Patterns." These range from the simple back-rank mate to four variations of the Greek gift sacrifice to methods of salvaging a "Petrosian draw" in the endgame. Chandler argues that these are common themes, and that by working through the well-diagramed, two-page-per-example sections, we will notice these possibilities in our play. He includes a test section at the end to how well the material has sunk in. The text is easy to read with clear, well-anotated diagrams (the key move is indicated by an arrow as well as the text), and the hardcover version withstands abuse in your gear bag. This is a superb book to glance at while you're waiting for the tournament to start.

Cheers - Steve Frost, Croydon Chess

.....

Unusual request:

Writing from the US - noticed you have a player named Alexander Balionis, which is also my son's name (he's 17). Have always been interested in genealogy, and very curious as to how someone with this last name ended up in Australia.

Any way to put us in contact?

Thanks, Gary Balionis

Does anyone have Alexander Balionis's contact details? If so, please email Gary - Ed

World News:

Drammen: Scores after 8 rounds: 1. Nielsen, Peter Heine g DEN 2663 5.5; 2. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2726 5.0; 3. McShane, Luke J g ENG 2629 5.0; 4. Macieja, Bartlomiej g POL 2613 4.5; 5. Lie, Kjetil A m NOR 2474 4.0; 6. Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2669 3.5; 7. Korchnoi, Viktor g SUI 2601 3.5; 8. Johannessen, Leif Erlend g NOR 2519 3.5; 9. Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2523 3.0; 10. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2581 2.5. Site | View games

Reggio Emilia: Players include Delchev, Cebalo, Chatalbashev, Komarov, Miladinovic and Naumkin. Scores after 7 rounds: 1. Delchev, Aleksander g BUL 2601 5.0; 2. Cebalo, Miso g CRO 2520 4.0; 3. Sciortino, Massimo ITA 2222 3.5; 4. Miladinovic, Igor g GRE 2611 3.5; 5. Komarov, Dimitri g UKR 2555 3.5; 6. Di Caro, Calogero f ITA 2317 3.5; 7. Naumkin, Igor g RUS 2479 3.5; 8. Rombaldoni, Denis ITA 2251 3.5; 9. Chatalbashev, Boris g BUL 2554 2.5; 10. Tirabassi, Maurizio f ITA 2330 2.5. Site | View games

Hastings: Players include Kotronias, Efimenko, Socko, Belov, Hebden, Neverov, Lalic, Cherniaev, Bluvshtein, Pert and Pavlovic. Site | View games

Nice Open: Leading final scores after 9 rounds: Epishin, Sanchez 6.0; Maze, Hamdouchi, Libiszewski, Drogou, Dunis, Ribreau, Issermann, Govciyan 5.5.Site | View games

Rilton Cup: Site

Arnold Denker RIP: Former US Champion Arnold Denker has died at the age of 90. US Chess Association

January Ratings: Kasparov is still No 1 - but Anand is now only 18 points away.
Top 20: 1 Kasparov 2804, 2 Anand 2786, 3 Topalov 2757, 4 Kramnik 2754, 5 Leko 2749, 6 Morozevich 2741, 7 Adams 2741, 8 Svidler 2735, 9 Bacrot 2715, 10 Shirov 2713, 11 Ivanchuk 2711, 12 Grischuk 2710, 13 Bareev 2709, 14 Dreev 2704, 15 Ponomariov 2700, 16 Gelfand 2696, 17 Akopian 2693, 18 Vallejo Pons 2686, 19 Sokolov 2685, 20 Volokitin 2685.

Kuzubov wins Harmonie: Another tournament pitching established players against young talent. The event was held in Groningen, Holland. The winner is aged 14! Leading final scores after 6 rounds: Kuzubov, Van der Wiel, Visser, Nijboer 6; L'Ami 5.5; Gagunashvili 5; Zhigalko 3.5; Jones, Ernst 2.5; Brandenburg 2. Site | View games

Asian Junior: Boy's leading final scores: Prasad, Chakkravarthy 7.5; Anand, Gupta, Gopal, Venkatesh, Rohit 7.0. Girls: Thi Bao Tram, Harika 9.5; Swaminathan 8.0. Site

Czech Christmas tournament: Leading scores after 6 rounds: Blatny 5.5; Luch 5.0; Neuman, Plachetka, Votava, Plischki, Bernasek, Stocek, Zawadzki, Sabol, Velicka, Kovalev 4.5. Site View games

Eastern Open: Leading final scores after 8 rounds: GM Alexander Ivanov 7.0; IM Stanis Smetankin 6.0; Negulescu, Muhammad, Fernandez, Kaufman, Shibut, Bengtson, Fayvinov 5.5. Site | View games

Gelfand wins Pamplona: Boris Gelfand scored a convincing victory in this tournament, which was a clash of the veterans (such as Vaganian) and the young stars (Karjakin, Mamedyarov, Naiditsch, Bruzon) Final scores, 7 rounds: Gelfand 5.5; Karjakin 4.5; Bruzon 4.0; De la Riva Aguado 3.5; Mamedyarov, Naiditsch, Sutovsky 3.0; 8. Vaganian 1.5. Site | View games

Games:

Carlsen, M (2581)    --    Shirov, A (2726)
Smartfish Masters  (7)   Drammen NOR
2005.01.03     1-0     C95

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8 14.Ng3 g6 15.b3 c6 16.Bg5 Bg7 17.Qd2 Qc7 18.a4 d5 19.dxe5 Nxe5 20.Nxe5 Qxe5 21.Bf4 Qe6 22.e5 Nd7 23.Bh6 Bh8 24.f4 Qe7 25.Re3 Nf8 26.Rf1 c5 27.f5 d4 28.cxd4 cxd4 29.fxg6 hxg6

Notices

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.

Grand Prix tournaments:

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
Port Macquarie PCYC Weekender: July 2-3; Cat 3; Four Points By Sheraton hotel, 2 Hay Street, Port Macquarie, NSW; Les Wells 0403 860100

Other events:

Hakoah Chess Club events: Hakoah Club, 61 Hall Street Bondi, NSW; Allegro - January 10; Lightning - January 17; Allegro January 24; Henry Greenfield Cup - February 7; Vladimir Feldman 0414 798503;Website
2005 Oceania Zonal: Jan 30 - Feb 4, 2005; Auckland, NZ, Details. - Paul Spiller, Zonal organiser
Toukley U2000 Tournament: 19-20 February, Toukley RSL Club, Holmes Avenue, Toukley, NSW, 7 rounds, Details: Brian Jones 02-9838-1529.
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

International tournaments:

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

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.

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

7th United Insurance & United Leasing Grandmasters Chess Tournament Dhaka, Bangladesh; 28th January to 7th February; GM, IM and +2300 rated players invited. $US500 GM appearance money; Free food & accommodation. Email. Details

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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