New Zealand's Anthony Ker has won the inaugural Oceania Lightning Championships.

Scores
Anthony Ker 6
Anastasia Sorokino 6
James Cronan 5.5
Gareth Oliver 4.5
Alex Feldman 4
Alek Safarian 4
Stephen Solomon 3.5
Nathan Goodhue 3.5
Tom Kalisch 3.5
Sue Maroroa 3.5
Chris Wallis 3
Jason Chan 3
etc

FM Garbett, Paul    --    FM Canfell, Greg
2005 Oceania Zonal Championship  (3)   Auckland
????     1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8. O-O Be7 9.Nb3 a6 10.a4 O-O 11.a5 b6 12.axb6 Qxb6 13.Be3 Qc7 14.f4 Rfd8 15. g4 Bc8 16.g5 Nd7 17.Qe2 Nb6 18.Kh1 Nb4 19.Na5!? Bf8 20.Rfd1 Rb8 21.Rd2 d5 22.Bxb6 Rxb6 23.exd5 Qxf4 24.Rf1 Qc7

( 24...Qxg5!? 25.Qf2! )

25.Nc4 Rb8 26.Ne5 +/- Nxd5 27.Nxd5 exd5 28.Nxf7 Rd7 29.Ne5 Re7

30.g6!! Be6

( 30...Rxe5 31.Rxf8+!? Kxf8 32.gxh7!? Rxe2 33.h8=Q+ +- )

Bjelobrk, Igor    --    FM Watson, Bruce
2005 Oceania Zonal Championship  (3)   Auckland
????     1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.e4 e5 5.Nf3 Be7 6.Be2 c6 7.O-O O-O 8. Rb1 a5 9.Re1 Re8 10.Bf1 Bf8 11.b3 exd4 12.Nxd4 Nc5 13.f3 g6 14.Be3 Bg7 15. Qd2 Nh5 16.Red1 Qe7 17.Nde2 Be5 18.Bg5 f6 19.Bh4 g5 20.Bf2 Nf4 21.Nd4 Qg7 22.Kh1 h5 23.a3 Bd7 24.b4 axb4 25.axb4 Na4 26.Nxa4 Rxa4 27.c5!? d5 28.b5!? dxe4 29.fxe4 Bg4

Otherwise, if the Ra4 retreats, white has Bf1-c4+-f7

GM Johansen, Darryl    --    FM Depasquale, Chris
2005 Oceania Zonal Championship  (6)   ????     1-0

1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nf6 3.Nf3 g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Nc3 O-O 6.e4 d6 7.h3 e5 8.Bg5 h6 9.Be3 Kh7 10.g4 Ne8 11.Bd3 Na6 12.a3 Nac7 13.Qc2 Bd7 14.Ke2!?

Gives the rooks freedom to move along the first rank

( 20...Bxf5 21.Bxf5+ Rxf5 22.Qc2 Qf6 23.Nh4! )

( 21...Bxf5 22.Bxf5 Rxf5 23.Nh4 +- )

( Why not 22.Rxe4 Qf6 with some play )

22...Bxf5

23.Nh4! Bxg4+ 24.hxg4

Now white has powerful threats - Nf5 or Ng6+ - in return for the exchange

( 33...Nxf6 34.Qxc8+ )

Threatening mate three ways: Q/Rd7 and Nb7

FM Canfell, Greg    --    Bjelobrk, Igor
2005 Oceania Zonal Championship  (6)   ????     0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 d4 5.Nce2 d3!? 6.cxd3

Nc3!?

Maybe now it's time for Bf1 to kick the queen out, and d4

( 25...Nxd3?? 26.Nf6+!! gxf6 27.Rg4+ Kh8 28.Qxf6# )

Suddenly black has a strong counter-attack

IM Solomon, Stephen    --    IM Lane, Gary
2005 Oceania Zonal Championship  (6)   ????     0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 d6 6.O-O Nf6 7.Ng5 O-O 8. f4 Bg4 9.Qe1 Nd4 10.h3 Bd7 11.Qf2 exf4 12.Bxf4 b5 13.Bb3 Nxb3 14.axb3 Nh5!

Surprisingly strong

( 15...Bxg5 16.Bxd6 leads to interesting complications, eg 16...Bh4!? 17.Qf3 Ng3 18.Rf2 Be6 19.Bxf8 Qxf8 20.Nc7 Rc8 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.Qxf8+ Rxf8 23.Rxf8+ Kxf8 24.Rxa7 Ne2+ 25.Kf1 Nd4 26.c3 Nxb3 27.Rb7 )

16.Nxe7+ Qxe7 17.Qxf4 a5 18.Nf3 a4 19.Nd2 Be6 20.bxa4 bxa4 21.e5 dxe5 22. Qxe5 Qb7 23.Ne4 c4 24.Rf3 Qb6+ 25.Nc5 cxd3 26.Rg3 g6 27.cxd3!? Ra5 28.d4 Qxb2 29.Rga3 Rd8 30.Rxa4

Rxc5!! 31.Qxc5 Bd5 -+ 32.R1a2 Bxa2 33.Qa5 Qc1+ 34.Kh2 Qf4+ 35.Kh1 Rc8!

Bjelobrk, Igor    --    GM Johansen, Darryl
2005 Oceania Zonal Championship  (7)   ????     0-1

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+ 3.Nd2 c5 4.dxc5 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bxc5 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.O-O Qc7 9.a3 Be7 10.b4 d6 11.Bb2 Nbd7 12.Rc1 O-O 13.Qb3 Rac8 14.Rc2 Qb8 15.Rfc1 Qa8 16.Qa2 Rfe8 17.Qa1 Bf8 18.Be2 Rc7 19.Re1 Qd8 20.Rcc1 Qe7 21. Nd4 Ra8 22.Bf3 Bxf3 23.N4xf3 a6 24.Qb1 Rac8 25.Red1 Qe8 26.Qd3 Be7 27.h3 h6 28.Qb3 Ra8 29.Qd3 Rac8 30.Qb3 Bf8 31.Qd3 Ra8 32.Qb3 Qc8 33.Qd3 Qb7 34. Kh1 Rac8 35.Kg1 Be7 36.Kh1 Rd8 37.Kg1 Rcc8 38.Kh1 Nf8 39.Qb1 Ng6 40.Kg1 Nf8 41.Qa1 Ng6 42.Qb1 b5 43.cxb5 axb5 44.Nb3 e5 45.Na5 Qa6 46.Nd2 Rxc1 47. Rxc1 Rc8 48.Rc2 Bd8 49.Nab3 Ne7 50.Rxc8 Qxc8 51.Qd3 Qd7 52.Qc2 Nc8 53.Kf1 Nb6 54.Ba1 h5 55.Kg1 g6 56.Kf1 Kf8 57.Bb2 Ke8 58.Ba1 Nfd5 59.Bb2 Kf8 60. Bc1 Nc7 61.Na5 Ne6 62.Ne4 f5 63.Nc3 Nc7 64.Qd3 d5 65.f3 Bf6 66.e4 fxe4 67. fxe4 d4 68.Ne2 Ne8 69.Nb3 Nd6 70.Nc5 Qf7 71.Kg1 Kg8 72.Kh1 Bg7 73.Ng1 Qc4 74.Qd1 Nf7 75.Nf3 Bf6 76.Bd2 Be7 77.Qe1 Bxc5 78.bxc5 Qxc5 79.Bb4 Qc6 80. Qh4 Qe6 81.Qg3 Nd7 82.Ne1 Kg7 83.Nd3 Nf6 84.Qe1 Ng5 85.Nc5 Qc4 86.Kh2 Ne6 87.Nb7 Nf4 88.Nd6 Qc2 89.Qg3 Nxe4 90.Qf3 Nxd6 91.Bxd6 Qf5 92.Qb7+ Kh6 93. Qb8 Nd3 94.Bf8+ Kg5 95.Qd8+ Kf4!

Black's king joins the attack

Australian Championships 2005/2006 - Junior Championships 2006 - Call for Bids

In April 2004 the ACF Council called for bids for the Australian Championships 2005/2006 and associated events, the Australian Junior Championships 2006 and the Australian Schools Teams Championships 2005.

The only bid received was from the NSWCA/NSWJCL for the Australian Schools Teams Championships 2005. That bid was accepted at the ACF Council meeting on 11 October 2004.

This leaves the other events without a formal bid. I am anxious to ensure that we have the situation clarified and any bids in a state suitable for acceptance at the next ACF Council meeting to be held at Easter. By then there will be only 9 months' lead time for the events.

The purpose of this notice is to call formally (again) for bids for the Australian Championship 2005/2006 and/or the Australian Junior Championships 2006.

Bids are to be submitted in writing (includes email) by 5pm on Thursday 10 March 2005 to Jey Hoole, ACF Secretary

A form of application (in either PDF or Word format) that covers the matters required by the ACF By-laws to be addressed is available by e-mail from me.

Should not all the required information be available by the deadline, as much as is available should be supplied.

If any bid is submitted on the basis of the ACF running the event direct, rather than granting its running upon application by a State Association, attention is drawn to By-law 14 of the By-laws for ACF Tournaments which provides that "the Council shall determine the State where a tournament will be held with the approval of the State Association of that State". Any such application should also give particulars of the proposed organising committee as it is not to be assumed that the ACF would undertake that task.

Denis Jessop
ACF President

Some recent ACF decisions ... ACF decisions from the last two Council meetings and the National Conference have been noted in past issues of the ACF Newsletter. I feel that several of those items could benefit from some greater explanation.

ACF Junior Chess Subcommittee

The Council meeting of 11 October 2004 established a new ACF Junior Chess Subcommittee. If the Subcommittee functions as the proponents of it hope, this could be the single most significant ACF initiative in some years.

Until now there has been a tendency - almost a regular practice - in the Council to make decisions affecting junior chess events and administration without prior consultation with those closest to junior chess. It even seems that some may have not recognised that the needs, and conditions of running, junior chess events are in several important ways quite different from those applying to senior events. This is especially so where very young or first-time competitors are involved.

The new subcommittee will comprise a Presiding Member from the ACF Executive and members nominated by State Associations after consultation with relevant junior chess bodies in their State. It will have power to make recommendations relating to junior chess to the Council on any matter it thinks fit or on matters referred to it by the Council or by the President at the request of a State Association.

We hope that the subcommittee will provide valuable input to the Council and also relieve the Council of a bit of its workload, though the latter is very much a secondary benefit.

The establishment of the Subcommittee is a much better solution, in my view, than the establishment of an independent Australian Junior Chess League which had been mooted by some but which would have caused a lot of complications in Australian chess administration.

Repeal of Cl.12 of the Constitution

Clause 12 provided for the holding of a players' meeting once a year, if possible at the venue of the major tournament of the Federation in that year. It also allowed the Secretary to convene a meeting of State Presidents or of other special groups of persons with members of the Council. Any motions passed at those meetings were advisory only. For several years the necessary quorum for a players meeting has not been present.

It was considered that the obligation on the Council to hold a players meeting was an unnecessary burden.

With the repeal of cl. 12 it will still be possible for the Council or the organisers of a tournament to hold players meetings. Moreover, there is no doubt that specific provision to allow the other Special Meetings is unnecessary. Indeed, without cl. 12, the Council now has greater flexibility to hold players and other meetings should the need be seen to be there.

Mt Buller Steering Committee

With the possibility that the Mt Buller management would be interested in having the Australian Open and Australian Juniors events at Mt Buller again in 2006/2007, the Council established a Steering Committee to oversee negotiations with Mt Buller. To date George Howard and I (both of us being members of the Committee) have had some discussions with Mt Buller. As things now stand, we believe the next move is with Mt Buller to put details in writing to us regarding their proposals.

Denis Jessop
ACF President

2004 Olympiad - Australian Women's Team - Captain's Report by IM Leonid Sandler: The 36th Chess Olympiad took place in Calvia (Spain) from 14 to 31 October 2004. Our women's team comprised:
Irina Berezina FIDE 2281
Arianne Caoili FIDE 2250
Anastasia Sorokina FIDE 2198
Ingela Eriksson FIDE 2098.

As you know we scored 20.5 points from 42 games and placed 47th/87. Our team was ranked 35th. We won six matches, drew one and lost seven. Our results:

Round 1
Sri-Lanka - Australia 0-3

Round 2
Australia - Germany 0-3

Round 3
Lebanon - Australia 1-2

Round 4
Moldova - Australia 2-1

Round 5
Australia - Finland 2-1

Round 6
Bosnia - Australia 1-2

Round 7
Australia - Argentina 2-1

Round 8
Australia - Latvia 1-2

Round 9
Romania - Australia 2-1

Round 10
Australia - South Africa 2.5-0.5

Round 11
Cuba - Australia 2-1

Round 12
Australia - The Netherlands 1-2

Round 13
Australia - Norway 1.5-1.5

Round 14
Switzerland - Australia 2.5 - 0.5

Board One
IM Irina Berezina played 11 games and scored 5.5 points. Two wins (against Norway and Sri-Lanka). Two losses (against German IM Kahiani 2441 and Dutch GM Peng 2420). Seven draws (against Lebanon, Finland, Argentina, Romania, South Africa, Cuba and Switzerland). Average rating of opponents 2223, performance rating 2223, Irina lost four ELO points. The opposition is usually strongest on board one. Irina played against one GM, two IM, two WGM and four WIM. The overall level of women's chess at this Olympiad was very high. It is very difficult to be the leader of the team. Irina was always happy to play in every match. She played 11 games and her score was more than satisfactory. In a few drawn games she missed good chances to win (games against Romania and Switzerland). Had she won these two games her overall standing would had been a very good +2. Irina did not have a lot of practice during the previous year due to work commitments and family responsibilities. Her professional approach to chess (good opening preparation, hard work during the games) still shows. Irina has been Australia's board one player since the Olympiad in Moscow 1994.

Board Two
Arianne Caoili is 17 years old. She represented Australia for the first time. Arianne played board one for Philippines in 2002. In Calvia she played 10 games and scored 3 points, two wins (against South Africa and Sri Lanka (forfeit) ), six losses (against Germany, Moldova, Bosnia, Latvia, Cuba and Switzerland) and two draws (against Lebanon and Romania). Average rating of her opponents 2172. She played 4 WGM and 3 WIM. Performance rating 2004, Arianne lost 29 rating points. Arianne was coached at a very early age by leading Russian trainers L.Psakhis, I..Dorfman and G. Timoshenko. Despite a few losses, I as a team captain decided to persevere with her, but unfortunately she was unable to recapture the form that I know she is capable of. At present, Arianne appears to be going through an unsettled period in her life, as many teenagers do, and I am confident that in the near future you will see her return to the fine results and performances that persuaded the selectors to include her in this year's team.

Board Three
WIM Anastasia Sorokina played the tournament of her life and was very close to a WGM performance. She played 11 games and scored 6.5 points. Eight times Anastasia played with black and she managed to beat two WGM (from Latvia and Holland). Her other three wins were against Sri Lanka, Bosnia and Argentina. Three draws - against Moldova, Finland and Cuba. Three losses - against Germany, Romania and Norway. Average rating of her opponents 2172, performance rating 2237. Sorokina played against a very strong field including four WGM, three WIM and three WFM. She gained nine rating points. Anastasia is relatively unknown to the Australian chess public. Originally from Minsk, she was a terrific member of the team, always happy to play in every match and took the opportunity to represent her adopted country very seriously. Her game against former Georgian WGM T. Bosboom-Lanchava who represented Holland is a perfect example of her determination and fighting spirit. This game, together with an excellent win against WGM from Latvia I. Erneste, were highlights of Anastasia's performance. The lowest point for Anastasia was in round 13. She had 6.5 out of 10 games and we were paired against Norway seeded 43rd. If Anastasia, who played with black, could win again a WGM result would be in sight, but her opponent who was the star of the Norway team won a very good game. On performance rating Sorokina was the best performer in Australia's team. And a real asset for Australian chess.

Board Four
On paper Ingela Eriksson (FIDE 2098) was the reserve player. But from the early rounds she showed her excellent form by scoring very important and impressive wins against Finland, her former neighbors (she is originally from Sweden), Lebanon and Bosnia. I felt that Ingela should play as many games as practically possible. She did not play in the first two rounds because of jetlag. Overall she played 10 games and scored 5.5 points. Among her opponents were one WGM and three WIM. Her four wins came against Lebanon, Finland, Bosnia and South Africa. Three draws (Moldova, Argentina and Norway), she lost against Latvia, Holland and Switzerland. Average rating of her opponents 2048, her performance rating 2084. She gained two ELO points. At once stage Ingela was on her way to a WIM norm but in round 12 heartbreaking game against WIM B. Muhren (FIDE 2343) from Holland destroyed all her hopes. Ingela completely outplayed her opponent and was a few moves from the deserved victory but blundered and lost. Before this, she had five points out of seven games. Despite this setback, she once again showed her tremendous fighting spirit and played well in the next round. Overall I consider her result very solid indeed. Ingela has a cheerful personality and gave her all for the team.

Finally
For me personally it was an interesting and pleasant experience to serve as a captain of the team. Generally I believe we performed well, even though below expectations. With four rounds to go the team's score was a very credible +3 and we were hoping for a strong finish. Rounds 11 and 12 were tight struggles against the powerful Cuban and Dutch teams. Our minimal losses (1-2 in both matches) I consider to be reasonable results against such strong opposition. During both matches we lost opportunities. Sorokina against the Cuban WGM missed an easy win and drew, and Eriksson could have won but lost to her Dutch opponent.

A low point for the girls came in the penultimate round against Norway. The match ended in a disappointing 1.5:1.5 draw. We still had a +1 score, but a very tough paring for the last round put us against very experienced opponents from Switzerland with former World candidate WGM T. Lematchko and board two WGM B. Hund, who went on to win a bronze medal. It was not our day when Irina with black outplayed her opponent, but could not win. Arianne lost an equal rook ending, and Ingela overpressed and lost from a good position.The score 0.5:2.5 meant that we finished in 47th place and Switzerland in 31st position.

Eleven of our 14 opponents finished ahead of us in the final standing:
Netherlands 12th
Germany 17th
Romania 21st
Latvia 23rd
Cuba 24th
Moldova 26th
Argentina 30th
Switzerland 31st
Norway 38th
Finland 42nd
Bosnia 45th

The three opponents who finished behind us were:
Lebanon 65th
South Africa 68th
Sri Lanka 79th

All team members paid a substantial portion of their expenses and took holidays from work to represent their country. They deserve applause and recognition. I hope, that in the not-too-distant future women's chess in our country will progress and strong tournaments for women will be held. We do have a lot of talented players and more are on the way. In conclusion I would like to say a big "thank you" to my friends Manuel Weeks and Gary Bekker, who helped me a lot before and during the Olympiad.

Captain of Women's team
Leonid Sandler
International Master Mobile 0412 201891

Bonham appointed Junior Selection Co-ordinator: Kevin Bonham has been appointed Junior Selection Co-ordinator for the term ending on 30 June 2005, in a unanimous decision by the ACF Council. Mr Bonham, an academic and secretary of the Tasmanian Chess Association, has taken on the job for a short period to attend to some urgent junior selection matters.

IM Jovan Petronic - the Chairman of FIDE's Computer & Internet Chess Committee - has written an interesting article on FIDE Trainers Committee, and the training elite in chess. You can download the article in Word or PDF format, or view a slightly updated HTML on the internet

Letters

Dear Paul

I was just reading your most informative January newsletter.

I have a question which you may be able to answer. I have undertaken to resume teaching chess at school after a long break I used to know an ingenious chess problem, there are only a few pieces and the main feature was that white has to mate in four moves. The mate is effected with white's (only?) remaining man, a mere pawn.

I hoped to find it again so that I could set it for the students to solve.

Do you know the position/solution and if so could you send to me by return email?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers
Joe Cummins

Sorry Joe - I don't know. Can anyone else help?

World News:

Gibtele.com Masters: Leading scores after 8 rounds: Shirov, Areshchenko, Aronian, Efimenko, Sargissian, Sutovsky, Nakamura, Spraggett and Gormally 6.0 Site | View games

Bermuda International: This year the tournament features the exciting young Ukrainian player Volokitin. Leading scores after 3 rounds: Gelfand, Vescovi 2.0; Volokitin, Dominguez, Harikrishna 1.0; Macieja 0.5. Site : View games

Leko wins Corus: Hungary's Peter Leko has scored a great victory in the 2005 Corus tournament, finishing half a point ahead of Anand. Leko scored four wins - including a a nice victory over Anand - and did not lose any games. Karjakin won the B event and Georgiev the C tournament.

Site | View games - A | B games | C games | Rounds 1-2 annotated

Final scores, 13 rounds: 1. Leko, Peter g HUN 2749 8.5; 2. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2786 8.0; 3. Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2757 7.5; 4. Polgar, Judit g HUN 2728 7.0; 5. Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2710 7.0; 6. Adams, Michael g ENG 2741 7.0; 7. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2754 7.0; 8. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2679 6.5; 9. Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2700 6.5; 10. Bruzon, Lazaro g CUB 2652 6.5; 11. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2735 6.0; 12. Short, Nigel D g ENG 2674 5.5; 13. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2741 4.5; 14. Sokolov, Ivan g NED 2685 3.5.

B scores: 1. Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2599 9.5; 2. Smeets, Jan g NED 2475 8.5; 3. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2657 8.5; 4. Nielsen, Peter Heine g DEN 2648 8.0; 5. Cheparinov, Ivan m BUL 2572 7.5; 6. Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2652 7.5; 7. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2553 7.0; 8. Stellwagen, Daniel m NED 2524 6.5; 9. Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2491 6.0; 10. Kosteniuk, Alexandra m RUS 2490 5.5; 11. Ernst, Sipke m NED 2509 5.0; 12. Nijboer, Friso g NED 2549 4.5; 13. Nikolic, Predrag g BIH 2676 4.0; 14. Ramirez, Alejandro g CRC 2507 3.0.

C scores: 1. Georgiev, Vladimir g MKD 2517 10.5; 2. Korotylev, Alexey g RUS 2603 10.0; 3. Zhukova, Natalia wg UKR 2465 10.0; 4. L'Ami, Erwin m NED 2531 9.0; 5. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2605 9.0; 6. Jonkman, Harmen g NED 2399 6.5; 7. Spoelman, Wouter NED 2381 6.5; 8. Negi, Parimarjan IND 2316 5.5; 9. Pliester, Leon m NED 2383 5.0; 10. Bosboom, Manuel m NED 2426 5.0; 11. Bosboom-Lanchava, Tea wg NED 2366 4.0; 12. Muhren, Bianca wm NED 2295 3.5; 13. Wempe, Joost NED 2265 3.5; 14. Mamedjarova, Zeinab wg AZE 2349 3.0. (Bosboom Lanchava withdrew due to illness after 10 rounds)

Games:

Grischuk, A (2710)    --    Ponomariov, R (2700)
Corus A  (10)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2005.01.26     1-0     B90

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bc1 Nf6 8.f3 Qb6 9.g4 Nc6 10.Nb3 e6 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.Be3 b5 13.O-O-O Nd7 14.Qf2 Be7 15.g5 Nce5 16.a3 Rb8 17.Rg1 Nb6 18.f4 Nec4 19.Bxc4 Nxc4 20.Bd4 O-O 21.Bf6 !!

Leko, P (2749)    --    Bruzon, L (2652)
Corus A  (11)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2005.01.28     1-0     C99

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Bd7 14.Nf1 Rac8 15.Re2 Nc6 16.a3 exd4 17.Nxd4 Rfe8 18.Ng3 d5 19.Nxc6 Bxc6 20.e5 Ne4 21.Bf4 g5?!

Black tries to win the e-pawn

( 23...dxe4 24.Qg4+ Kh8 25.Qg7# )

Black's position is shattered

Now black has no answer to the combined threats of exd7 and Qd4+

Mamedyarov, S (2657)    --    Cheparinov, I (2572)
Corus B  (11)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2005.01.28     0-1     B76

1.Nc3 c5 2.e4 Nc6 3.Nge2 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 d6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.f3 O-O 9.g4

Bxg4!? 10.fxg4 Nxg4 11.Bg1 e6 12.h4 h5 13.Be2 Bh6 14.Qd3 Nce5 15.Qg3 Rc8 16.Rd1 a6 17.Nf3 Nc4 18.Bxc4 Rxc4 19.Qxd6 Qf6 20.Ke2 Rc6 21.Qd4 e5 22.Qd3 Rfc8 23.a3 b5 24.Ne1

Rxc3!! 25.bxc3

Now black is a whole rook down

Nikolic, Pr (2676)    --    Mamedyarov, S (2657)
Corus B  (12)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2005.01.29     0-1     D02

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.O-O d5 6.Nbd2 b6 7.c4 e6 8. cxd5 exd5 9.Nb3 Re8 10.Bf4 Ba6 11.Re1 Nh5 12.Bg5 Qd6 13.Rc1 h6 14.Be3 Nd7 15.Rc2

Sutovsky, E (2669)    --    Arakhamia, K (2454)
Gibraltar Masters  (4)   Caleta ENG
2005.01.28     1-0     B48

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O b5 9.Bf4 Qb7 10.e5 b4 11.exf6 bxc3 12.Qxc3 Nb4 13.Bc4 gxf6

14.Nf5 !! d5 15.Nd6+ Bxd6 16.Bxd6 dxc4 17.Qxf6 Nxa2+ 18.Kb1 Rg8 19.Ba3 Qc7 20.Rd6 Nc3+ 21.bxc3 Bd7 22.Re1 Rb8+ 23.Ka2 a5

24.Rb6!!

Gormally, D (2472)    --    Sutovsky, E (2669)
Gibraltar Masters  (5)   Caleta ENG
2005.01.29     0-1     B87

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8. O-O Be7 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.Qg3 Nc6 11.Nxc6 Qxc6 12.Re1 Bb7 13.a3 Rd8 14.a4 O-O 15.axb5 axb5 16.Bh6 Ne8 17.Ra7 Ra8 18.Rxa8 Bxa8 19.Bf4 Nf6 20.Bh6 Ne8 21. Bf4 b4 22.Na2 Nf6 23.Bh6 Nh5 24.Qg4 Qb5 25.f3 Bf6 26.Rb1 Bd4+ 27.Kh1 Bxb2 28.Bd2 Nf6 29.Qg3 d5 30.Bxb4 dxe4 31.c4 Qf5 32.Bxf8 Nh5 33.Qg4 exf3 34. Qxf5 fxg2+ 35.Kg1 Bd4+ 36.Qf2 Nf4!! 0-1

Macieja, B (2618)    --    Volokitin, And (2685)
It  (3)   Bermuda BER
2005.02.01     0-1     A20

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 h6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e4 Bxc3 6.bxc3 d6 7.Ne2 Be6 8. d3 Qd7 9.h3 g5 10.f3 Na6 11.h4 O-O-O 12.hxg5 hxg5 13.Bxg5 Rxh1+ 14.Bxh1 Rh8 15.Kf2 Nh7 16.Bh4 f5 17.exf5 Bxf5 18.d4 Qe6 19.c5 Nf6 20.Qb3 Nd5 21. Re1 Re8 22.Nc1

Threatens not just ...Nd3 but also the very nasty ...Be6

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 Details, entry form, accommodation info
2005 Open - Tasmania: June 11-13; Burnie Chess Club; Room 25, Portside Building, Spring Street, Burnie. Contact: Neville Ledger, P.O. Box 837, Burnie, Tasmania 7320. Email
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:

Laurieton One Day Chess: February 27, 10.30am, Laurieton Services Club, NSW Contact: Endel - 6559 9060
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

The 5th BCC Open is coming soon! It will be held May 19-23 at Regent Cha-Am Resort (www.regent-chaam.com) approx 200km from Bangkok. All tournament details can be seen in our website www.bangkokchess.com. You can register by using the online registration form, and a list of already-registered players will be on the website soon.

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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