ACF Council decisions:

• Chris Zuccula gave a presentation to the ACF in regards to public liability insurance. Premiums for chess clubs are dependent on their membership size, and ranges from $208 to $378 annually.
• The ACF Council elected the following people to the Steering Committee that will consider sponsorship arrangements with the Mt Buller Management: Denis Jessop, George Howard, Jey Hoole, Kevin Bonham, Shaun Press and Charles Zworestine
• Council members will discuss the NCCAS scheme with their associations and report back at the March ACF Meeting
• SACA will make a net chess proposal to the ACF
• The following office bearers were re-appointed: Archivist/ Historian; Paul Dunn; Bulletin Editor: Paul Broekhuyse; FIDE Delegate; Phil Viner; FIDE ratings officer: Gary Bekker; Grand Prix Coordinator: Gavin Gray; Medals Coordinator: Gary Wastell; National Ratings Officers: Bill Gletsos/ Graham Saint; Publicity Officer: Ashley Rambukwella; Senior Selection Coordinator: Kevin Bonham; Webmaster: Paul Broekhuyse.

ACF Medals: IM Gary Lane has been awarded the 2004 Steiner Medal for player of the year. NSW Chess Association President Bill Gletsos won the 2005 Koshnitsky medal for chess administration, while yours truly (Paul Broekhuyse) won the 2005 Purdy Medal for chess journalism.

Sedina wins Lidums Australian Open: Italian Women's GM Elena Sedina - originally from The Ukraine - has won the Australian Open in Mt Buller with 8.5/11 - the first woman to do so. Second equal were GM Johansen, IM D'Amore, and GM Hecht with 8 points. The event featured its usual range of upsets, with IM Smerdon losing to Jason Hu and Igor Bjelobrk, while young Phachara Wongwichit (1947) beat Bill Jordan (2348). The performance of young Raymond Song (7/11) and his sister Angela (6/11) was notable.

The official website has live games, results and other details.

View Open games | Minor games

Australian Open - final scores, 11 rounds:
8.5 Sedina
8.0 Johansen, Hecht, D'Amore
7.5 Arlandi, Kengis, Dragicevic, Jordan, Pecori
7.0 Bjelobrk, Guthrie, Smerdon, Rej, Raymond Song
6.5 Xie, Humphrey, Wei, Sonter, Jackson, Obst, Wongwichit, D Stojic
6.0 Hu, Chan, Zvedeniouk, Truscott, Wallis, Mendes Da Costa, Angela Song, Voon
5.5 Ly, Bonham, Mortensen, Escribano, Vijayakumar, Frost, Lilly, Lin, Illingworth, Holt, S Stojic, Pyke
5.0 Dizdarevic, Ali, Lugo, Van Der Wal, Zileski, Hardegen, Tulevski, Alkin, Neudel, Oliver, Murray
4.5 Lea, Vijayakumar, Chadwick, Van Dijk, Davidson, Nour
4.0 Silas, Kara, Guo-Yuthok, D Yu, S Yu, Beckman, Ghobrial, Schon
3.5 Arkins, Cooke, Kaspar
2.5 Buciu
2.0 Baxter
1.0 Laugery
0.0 Howard, Stark

Australian Minor:

5.5 Rob McCulloch (winner on tiebreak)
5.5 Joe Marks (second on tiebreak) 5.5 Stephan Taylor (third)
5.5 Rex Simmonds (fourth)
5 Eddy Katnic
5 Trent Parker (1st under 1400)
4.5 Roland Eime
3 Matthew Sweeney (=2nd under 1400)
3 Corey White (=2nd under 1400)
3 Lance Chiddy (=2nd under 1400)
2.5 Jamie Kenmure
0 Rory Chiddy

As reported last week, GM Kengis won the Rapid Play, whhile the Australian Open Lightning was won by Igor Bjelobrk with 9/11.

The Hospitality Textiles Tony Colyer Pty Ltd Australian Junior has begun in Mt Buller. Details on the website.

Wohl wins NZ Championship: A number of Australians competed. The tournament was won by Australian IM Alex Wohl, but the title goes to New Zealander Anthony Ker. Final scores after 11 rounds: Wohl (Aust) 8.5; Ker 8; Civin 7.5; Paul Garbett, Russell Dive 7; Stephen Lukey 6.5; Tim Reilly (Australia), Bob Smith, Spain 6; John McDonald, Chris Burns, Peter Stuart 5.5; Gino Thornton, Hilton Bennett, Nic Croad 4.5; Nathan Goodhue, Mark van der Hoorn 3; Martin Sims .5. Site | View games

World News:

Assorted tourneys: Russian Blitz Cup Superfinal | Cairnhill Open | Dallas | Zadar

Below wins Hastings: Belov beat Socko 1.5-0.5 to win the Premier. Players included Kotronias, Efimenko, Socko, Belov, Hebden, Neverov, Lalic, Cherniaev, Bluvshtein, Pert and Pavlovic. The event featured a novel format this year, with the Premier and the Challengers combined into a knockout, and black enjoying 20 minutes more time than white. Site | View games

Delchev wins Reggio Emilia: Players include Delchev, Cebalo, Chatalbashev, Komarov, Miladinovic and Naumkin. Final cores after 9 rounds: Delchev 6.5; Miladinovic, Komarov, Cebalo, Rombaldoni 5.0; Sciortino 4.5; Naumkin 4.0; Di Caro, Chatalbashev 3.5; Tirabassi 3.0. Site | View games

Rilton Cup: Leading final scores after 9 rounds: Volkov, Gleizerov, Berg 7.0; Ivanov, Khenkin, de Firmian, Cramling, Aagaard, Ulibin, Nybäck, Hedman 6.5; Hermansson, Handke, Furhoff, Åkesson, Kuemin, Lindberg 6.0. Site | View games

Shirov, Nielsen win Drammen: Final scores after 9 rounds: 1. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2726 6.0; 2. Nielsen, Peter Heine g DEN 2663 6.0; 3. McShane, Luke J g ENG 2629 5.5; 4. Lie, Kjetil A m NOR 2474 4.5; 5. Korchnoi, Viktor g SUI 2601 4.5; 6. Macieja, Bartlomiej g POL 2613 4.5; 7. Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2669 4.0; 8. Johannessen, Leif Erlend g NOR 2519 4.0; 9. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2581 3.0; 10. Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2523 3.0. Site | View games

Games:

Arlandi, Ennio (2440)    --    Sedina, Elana (2431)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.1)   Mt Buller
2005.01.05     0-1     D10

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6

Very popular in recent years

( 14.Nxc6 Qb6! 15.c5 Bxc5 16.dxc5 Qxc6 17.Rc1 e5!? ( 17...Nxc5 18.Ba3 Rfc8 19.Qd4 Nfd7 seems OK too ) )

The beginning of a clumsy plan

Now black has good kingside prospects

( 24.dxe5 Nxe5 25.f4 Nxg4 ( 25...Nxd3 26.Qxd3 Ne4 -/+ ) 26.fxg5 ( 26.Rg1 Nxe3 27.Qc1 ) 26...Qh2# )

( 30.Nxe5 fxe5 31.Qh7+ Kf8 doesn't do much )

Hecht, Hans Joachim (2389)    --    Johansen , Darryl (2485)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.2)   2005.01.05     1-0     B06

A surprisingly easy victory for Hecht against the normally rock-solid Johansen

1.d4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.e4 d6 4.Bc4 c6 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.Qe2 O-O 7.O-O a5 8.a4 Qc7 9.Na3 Na6 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nxe5 Nb4 12.h3 b6 13.Bf4 Nbd5 14.Bh2 Ba6 15.Bc4! Qb7?! 16.Bxa6 Rxa6

( 16...Qxa6 17.Qxa6 Rxa6 18.Nxc6 Rc8 19.Ne5 +/- )

Now the Nf4 is in danger from g4

( 23...Nb4!? )

24.g4

Rac8

( 24...Nf6 25.Rb3 Nxa4 26.Nb5 +- wins the Na4 )

Smerdon, David (2431)    --    Kengis, Edvins (2543)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.3)   2005.01.05     1/2-1/2     B22

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 e6 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nc6 8. O-O Be7 9.Qe2 O-O 10.Qe4

Preparing Bd3 and a kingside assault. Black decides to offer a pawn

Threatening ...Bxf3 and ...Nxd4!

16.h3 Nb4 17.Qg5 Bxf3 18.Qxd8 Rcxd8 19.gxf3 Nc2

20.Bg5!

( 20.Rb1 Re1+ 21.Rxe1 Nxe1 22.f4 Nf3+ 23.Kg2 Nxd4 -/+ )

20...Nxa1 21.Bxd8 Nc2 22.Bg5 Ne1!

23.Ne4!!

Smerdon's tactical wizardry never fails to impress

( 23.f4?? f6 24.Bh4 Nf3+ 25.Kg2 Nxh4+ -+ )

23...Nxf3+ 24.Kg2 Nh4+!? 25.Bxh4 Rxe4 26.Bg3 Bxg3

27.Kf3!!

An excellent zwichenzug to avoid black winning control of the seventh rank

( 27.fxg3?? Re2+ 28.Kf3 Rxb2 29.d5 Kf8 30.d6 Ke8 31.d7+ Kd8 )

( 27.Kxg3 Re2 28.d5 Kf8 29.d6 Ke8 30.d7+ Kd8 -/+ )

Bjelobrk, Igor (2392)    --    Guthrie, Aaron (2084)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.5)   Mt Buller
2005.01.05     1-0     E57

This game neatly illustrates the potential of the d5 break in standard isolated queen's pawn positions 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.Nc3 cxd4 8.exd4 Be7 9.Re1 O-O 10.a3 a6 11.Ba2 b5

The standard break

( 14...Qxd5?? 15.Bxd5 loses a piece: 15...Bb7 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Rxe7 )

White already has a dangerous attack and the black queen will be vulnerable in the centre

( 19.Be7 Qc6 )

( 19...Rfe8 20.Bxf7+ Kxf7 21.Qxh7+ Kf8 22.Bh6# )

Xie, George (2351)    --    Rej, Tomek (2225)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.6)   Mt Buller
2005.01.05     1-0     B45

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.a3 Bc5 7.Be3 Nxd4 8.Bxd4 Qb6 9.Bxc5 Qxc5 10.Qf3 O-O 11.Bd3 b6 12.Qg3 Bb7 13.e5 Ne8 14.O-O-O f5 15.Rhe1 Nc7 16.Qh4 Nd5 17.Nb5! Ba6 18.Nd6! Bxd3 19.Rxd3 b5 20.Red1 b4

White will get at least two pawns for the exchange and the monster Nd6 leaves the black rooks with no scope

Jordan, Bill (2348)    --    Hu, Jason (1873)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.7)   2005.01.05     1-0     B12

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 c5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Be3 c4?! 8. Nge2 Bb4 9.Ng3 Bg6 10.h4 Ne7 11.h5 Bf5 12.Nxf5 Nxf5 13.Qg4 Nxe3

( 15...Nxa1 16.Qxh8+ Kd7 17.Qxd8+ Kxd8 18.Nxd5 Bf8 19.Bxc4 +- and the Na1 is a goner )

( 15...Rf8 16.Kxc2 +/- )

Obst, James (1942)    --    Song, Angela (1771)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.15)   Mt Buller
2005.01.05     1-0     C30

1.f4 e5 2.e4 Qf6!? 3.Nf3 Qxf4 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bc4 Bxc3

( 8...Kxf7 9.Ng5+ +- )

( 10...Ke8 11.Nxe5 ( 11.c3 Be7 12.Re1 Qg6 13.Bxe7 Kxe7 14.Nxe5 ) 11...g6 )

The threat of Nf7+ and Rxe7+ can't be met so white regains his piece

( 13...Bxg5?? 14.Nf7# mates )

Illingworth, Max (1839)    --    Wongwichit, Phachara (1947)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.17)   Mt Buller
2005.01.05     1-0     D45

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.g4 Nxg4 8. Rg1 h5 9.h3 Qf6 10.Be2

( 10.hxg4 Qxf3 11.Be2 Qf6 12.gxh5 )

( 19...b6 20.Bb4 a5! 21.Bc3 b5 )

20.Qb4 Bb8 21.Nd6+ Bxd6 22.cxd6 Qg5 23.f4 Qd5 24.b3 h3 25.Rg3 Rc8 26.Bc7 Rxc7 27.dxc7 h2

28.Bf3 h1=Q 29.Rxh1 Rxh1+ 30.Kb2!!

Perhaps black was expecting Bxh1 ... but now the Qd5 is trapped!

Nicely played!!

Vijayakumar, Rukman (1768)    --    Pyke, Malcolm (1941)
Lidums Australian Open 2005  (8.22)   2005.01.05     1-0     A46

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 e6 3.e4 h6 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Bd3 Bg7 8. Qd2 O-O 9.Ne2 Nd7 10.c3 e5 11.O-O a6 12.Rad1 Nb6 13.Ne1 c5 14.dxc5 dxc5 15.c4 Rd8 16.Qc1 Be6 17.b3 Qe7 18.Nc3 f5 19.f3 Kh8 20.Nc2 f4 21.Nd5 Nxd5 22.cxd5 Bg8 23.a4 h5 24.a5 c4 25.bxc4 Qc5+ 26.Kh1 Qxa5 27.Qb2 Rab8 28.Rb1 Qc7 29.Qb6 Qf7 30.Rfc1 g5 31.Be2 Bh7 32.Nb4 g4 33.c5 h4

( 37...Qc7 38.Rxg8+!! Kxg8 39.d6 Qxd6 40.c7 illustrates the power of the pawns )

Spassky B    --    Fischer R
(8)   Yugoslavia
1992     0-1     E84

1.d4

With Bobby Fischer in the news again, I thought it was timely to take a look at the games that caused all the trouble - the 1992 match. Although clearly rusty, Fischer displayed many moments of brilliance.

1...Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8. Qd2 Rb8 9.h4 h5 10.Bh6 e5 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.d5 Ne7 13.Ng3 c6 14.dxc6 Nxc6 15.O-O-O Be6 16.Kb1 Ne8 17.Nd5 b5 18.Ne3 Rh8 19.Rc1 Qb6 20.Bd3 Nd4 21.Nd5 Qa7 22.Nf1 Nf6 23.Nfe3 Bxd5 24.cxd5 Rbc8 25.Rcf1 Qe7 26.g4 Nd7 27.g5 Kf8 28.Rf2 Ke8 29.Bf1 Nc5 30.Bh3 Rc7 31.Rc1??

Ncb3!! 32.axb3 Nxb3

The point is that after 33.Rxc7 Nxd2 is check

Fischer R    --    Spassky B
(9)   Yugoslavia
1992     1-0     C69

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 c5 8.Nb3 Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Bg4 10.f3 Be6 11.Nc3 Bd6 12.Be3 b6 13.a4 O-O-O 14.a5 Kb7 15.e5 Be7 16.Rxd8 Bxd8 17.Ne4 Kc6 18.axb6 cxb6

( 19...bxc5 20.Rxa6+ Kd7 ( 20...Kd5 21.Rd6+ Kxe5 22.Rxd8 ) 21.Nxc5+ +- )

Fischer R    --    Spassky B
(11)   Yugoslavia
1992     1-0     B31

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.O-O Bg7 6.Re1 e5 7.b4!? cxb4 8.a3 c5 9.axb4 cxb4 10.d4 exd4 11.Bb2 d6 12.Nxd4 Qd7 13.Nd2 Bb7 14. Nc4 Nh6

Black's busted, as Fischer might say

( 15...gxf5 16.Bxg7 )

( 15...Nxf5 16.exf5+ Kf8 17.f6 Bh6 18.Nxd6 Qc6 19.Nxb7 Qxb7 20.Re7 Qc6 21.Raxa7 Rxa7 22.Qd8+ )

( 17...Bxa1 18.Qxa1 Rg8 19.Nxg8 Kxg8 20.Qf6 Rd8 21.e5 )

( 22...Kf8 23.Rd8+ Kg7 24.Re7+ )

Fischer R    --    Spassky B
(15)   Yugoslavia
1992     1/2-1/2     E07

Fischer didn't have it all his own way, as this game shows

1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 Nbd7 7.Nbd2 b6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.Ndf3 Ne4 11.Bf4 Ndf6 12.Rc1 c5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.Ng5 Nxg5 15.Bxg5 Ne4 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.Bxe4 dxe4 18.Nc4

( 19.Nxe3?? Qe4! 20.f3 Qxe3+ -+ )

19...Rad8 20.Qb3 Rfe8 21.Rc3 Bd5 22.Rfc1 g6 23.Qa3

Bxf3!! 24.exf3

( 24.Rxe3 Be4 )

24...e2 25.Re1 Rd1 26.Kf2 Rxe1 27.Kxe1 Qd7! 28.Qb3 Qh3 29.Ne3 Qxh2 30.g4 Rb8 31.Qd5 Rxb2 32.Qd8+ Kg7

33.Nf5+!!

The saving resource

Fischer R    --    Spassky B
(19)   Yugoslavia
1992     1/2-1/2     B23

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 e5 4.Nd5 Nge7 5.Nec3 Nxd5 6.Nxd5 Be7 7.g3 d6 8.Bg2 h5 9.h4 Be6 10.d3 Bxd5 11.exd5 Nb8 12.f4 Nd7 13.O-O g6 14.Rb1 f5 15.b4 b6 16.bxc5 bxc5 17.c4 O-O 18.Qa4 Bf6 19.Rb7 Nb6 20.Qb5 Rf7 21.Rxf7 Kxf7 22.Bd2 Rb8 23.Qc6 Nc8 24.Re1 Ne7 25.Qa4 Qc7 26.Kh2 exf4 27.Bxf4 Be5 28.Re2 Rb6 29.Kh3 Ng8

( 31...Qxe5 32.Qxa7+ +- )

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:

Australia Day Open: Victoria; details
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.
Doeberl Cup: Category 3 GP; March 25-28; Italo-Australian Club, 78 Franklin Street, Forrest, Canberra, ACT; $10,000 in prizes; Entry Fees: Premier $100/$60; Major/Minor $90/$50. Discount for early entry. Entries to: Paul Dunn (Treasurer, Doeberl Cup), 20 Richmond St, Macquarie, ACT 2614. Please make cheques payable to ACTCA. Contact Roger McCart (Convener, Doeberl Cup) 02 6251 6190 Roger.McCart@anu.edu.au
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

HB Global Chess Challenge: Maurice Ashley, Generation Chess, maurice@generationchess.com

Registration Deadline Extended for $500,000 Tournament; Sponsors Show Generosity For The Good Of Chess

Due to the already blistering pace of registrations, sponsors of the HB Global Chess Challenge have decided to extend the discount period for signing up for the event. The new deadline, now pushed back to March 1st instead of the original January 1, 2005, affects two major specials: the Register with a Friend offer and the 5 plus 1 Club deal. The group savings range from $100 to as much as $595.

"This is the biggest thing to hit the chess world in decades and we want to give people every possible chance to be a part of this epic event," says Brian Molohon, Executive Director of the HB Foundation, the organization that is the major contributor to the event. "This extension gives many more chess players and clubs time to organize themselves to attend this history-making tournament. We thought it was the right thing to do."

Early registrations are already well past the 600 mark, says Molohon, putting the event on pace to shatter previous participation rates of other top open chess tournaments. The World Open, long held as the giant of opens in world chess, normally brings in 1,200 to 1,400 paying participants. According to major tournament organizers, early registrations usually account for about 15% of the final tally, putting the HB Global Chess Challenge on pace to seeing well over 4,000 players. Such a number would go a long way to debunking the myth that chess is not a hugely popular sport.

"We are looking to change the image of chess," says International Grandmaster and CEO Maurice Ashley whose company, Generation Chess, is organizing the event. "We want the public at large to understand that chess tournaments are spectacular occurrences, held in grand convention centers for huge cash prizes. The only way that will happen is if chess players show up in record numbers in support of the HB Global Chess Challenge."

Chess has been like a ship lost at sea, says Ashley, with no steady direction coming from the top. The HB tournament, with its potential to galvanize the mass of chess players from all levels under one roof, could go a long way to bringing back to chess the luster it once held in the post-Fischer era and even up through the championship years of Garry Kasparov.

"It's the fans who make a sport successful," says Ashley. "Of course every sport needs its stars to shine brightly. But without the fans, no sport will thrive. It's like playing a violin in the desert. That's why what the sponsors are doing for this event is so great because they're making it easier for thousands of fans to throw their hat into the ring for the good of our sport."

The Register with a Friend special allows players to deduct $50 from the normal entry fee of $345 if they register with one other person. The 5 + 1 Club special gives a free entry to a sixth person if five friends pay the Register with a Friend price, a cost savings of $595, or almost $100 per player. After March 1st, the entry fee jumps to $345 per participant, with door registrations going for as much as $400 per entrant.

"The time to take advantage is now," says Molohon. "Once this second deadline passes, we'll have the hottest ticket in town."

- Generation Chess, LLC
info@generationchess.com
http://www.generationchess.com/
Register Today for the HB Global Chess Challenge http://www.hbfoundation.org/gcc/index.shtml

8th Annual Junior Orange Bowl & World Chess Hall of Fame International Scholastic Chess Championship: Miami, Florida; December 27-29, 2005.

8th Annual Junior Orange Bowl & World Chess Hall of Fame International Scholastic Championship in Miami, Florida. December 27 - 29, 2005 -- 7 Rounds - Game 90 -- Clocks are not provided!

Age groups 9 and under (3 individual trophies for top 6 and under); 10 - 12; 13 - 15; 16 - 19 (or 20 if still in High School) [Players must compete in their age group!] EF: $50 individual player; Team of 4 players in same division $150; All current national champions (no under classes) will receive scholarship to cover their EF. Multiple teams are OK but will play each other.

Prizes: Trophies: Top 3 teams & Top 10 individuals per division; commemorative medals to all participants and registered coaches.

Contact: Organizer - Arden W. Dilley - JOB Chess Committee Chair E-mail: adilley04-05@earthlink.net or Fax: 305-275-1308 or Phone: 305-270-0234

Site: Embassy Suites Hotel ask for special JOB Chess rates: http://www.embassysuites.com/en/es/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=MIASPES
Junior Orange Bowl Committee at http://www.jrorangebowl.com/
World Chess Hall of Fame at www.worldchesshalloffame.com Round Schedule December 27, 2005 9:00 A.M. -- Introductions and Rules Round 1: 9:30 - 12:30 PM - Round 2; 1:30 - 4:30 PM; Round 3 @ 5:30 - 8:30 PM Blitz - 8:30 PM

December 28, 2005 Round 4 @ 9:00 AM - Noon; Round 5 @ 1:00 PM - 4:00; Round 6 @ 5:00 PM - 8:00 Ladies Quick Chess Championship - Game 10 @ 8:00 PM

December 29, 2005 Round 7 @ 9:00 - 12:00; Bug House @ 12:00 - 1:30 PM Game 5 Awards @1:30 or ASAP after Bug House

Sponsorships are needed. Please contact Mr. or Mrs. Dilley at adilley04-05@earthlink.net

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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