ACF NEWSLETTER
The newsletter of the Australian Chess Federation Inc.
Acting Editor: Denis Jessop, ACF President
No. 385
17 October 2006
Welcome back to the ACF Newsletter albeit in a leaner form than before, at least for the present. There are still problems with the ACF Website that contribute to this and to the restricted circulation of this issue. I hope to have these resolved by the next one. I also do not have access to the advertising graphics at present so I have had to include the advertisements as text at the end
The ACF Council has appointed me as acting Editor pending resolution of a permanent appointment at or soon after the Council meeting following the National Conference on 6 January 2007. Meanwhile the Council is also moving to appoint a new Webmaster for which we have two applications. This is an essential step to making stable and satisfactory arrangements for our website in the future.
ACF Elections
The time for nominating for the position of ACF President expired on 8 October 2006. There was only one nomination – Gary Wastell, currently ACF Deputy President and President of Chess Victoria. Under the Constitution Gary thus becomes President-elect and his appointment will be confirmed at the National Conference to be held in Canberra on 6 January 2007. Gary brings to the position a wealth of experience in chess administration at both State and ACF level extending over many years.
Nominations for the other elected office bearers will be accepted until the time for the elections at the National Conference. Those officers are Deputy President, Vice President (2), Secretary and Treasurer. I have indicated a willingness to stand as a Vice President but so far no other nomination has been received.
ACF Council
The next ACF Council meeting will be held on Monday, 30 October 2007 and a report on any significant decisions made at that meeting will appear subsequently. [minor change from advance version distributed to my short contact list a couple of days ago – Ed.]
Australian Open Championships 2006/2007
Shaun Press, one of the principal organisers, sends us this update on progress:
Preparations for the 2007-07 Australian Open are well underway. The event runs from the 28th December 2006 to the 9th January 2007. Not only is there the Australian Open Championship but there will also be 1 week events for players rated Under 2000 (Major), Under 1600 (Minor) and Over 50 years (Senior).
For the Open Championship the organisers are negotiating the appearance of 6 GMs for the event, making it the strongest Australian Open in 20 years. And if that isn't reason enough for entering, over $15,000 in prizes will be on offer over the fortnight.
Full details (including entry forms) for the event are available online at http://www.actjcl.org.au/ausopen2006
Shaun Press
Australian Junior Championships 2007
Libby Smith, the Director of this event, has provided a recent update:
We are approaching our first deadline. The "extra-early" entry bonus (FREE t-shirt and water bottle) expires on 31 October. Please make sure the deadline is publicised amongst your local juniors. We don't want the kids to miss out on their "freebies" and (importantly for us) a clear indicator of predicted numbers for January will assist us in planning the event overall.
Key dates -
31 October - enter by this date for a FREE t-shirt and water bottle
1 December - enter before this date for discounted entry fee of $80 (late entry 1/12-22/12 $95)
22 December - all entries CLOSE.
Copies of the entry form can be downloaded from http://www.actjcl.org.au/ausjuniors2007/downloads/entry_form.pdf
Entries appear on the website once payment is confirmed. Your entry must be confirmed for you to qualify for your t-shirt & water bottle!
If any players are encountering problems with their entry or are worried about confirmation of their entry they can contact Jenny Wilkinson ausjuniors@internode.net Please note that sizes 6-16 are children's sizing (narrower fit) and S-XXL are adult (longer, generous sizing) when ordering the t-shirts.
We can confirm full sponsorship of the Rapid Play and Puzzle-Solving sections of the event that will see 100% of entry fees returned to participants and we hope to finalise a similar arrangement for the Lightning section of the event. These events are being entered online but can be entered at the tournament. Please note that players don't get the FREE shirt and water bottle if they ONLY enter the Rapid, Lightning & Problem-Solving. The free offer applies to entries into the main sections of the tournament.
Other items of (possible) interest on the website include our - regularly being updated - "fun things to do" page http://www.actjcl.org.au/ausjuniors2007/fun.php On each day of the tournament players will have the chance to win entry passes, meals and merchandise from a mix of local attractions. These will be awarded by lucky draw so any child can be a winner! We also have a bunch of other prizes to give away, some special daily awards from our arbiters and others for the children who volunteer to enter their own game each day. We hope to reward excellence and have fun over the course of the event!
If it's only 75 days until Christmas I guess it must be less than 100 days to the Juniors!
Libby Smith
Tournament Director
10 October 2006
World Youth Chess Championships, Batumi, 18 – 29 October
Team manager, Eunice Koh, provided this information a while ago but it is still relevant as, although the team should, by now, be settling in and ready to play, I'm sure that donations to offset the considerable expense of financing the trip would be appreciated by the Team.
The 2006 World Youth Chess Tournament, endorsed by FIDE, is being held from 18th to 29th Oct, 2006 in Batumi, Georgia. The 16 players and coaches going are: -
Zhigen Lin (U18 Boys)
Alexandra Jule (U18 Girls)
James Obst (U16 Boys)
Jessica Kinder (U16 Girls)
Andrew Brown (U14 Boys)
Angela Song (U14 Girls)
Raymond Song (U12 Boys)
Sally Yu (U12 Girls)
Laurence Matheson (U10 Boys)
Cedric Koh (U8 Boys)
U10 Boys
Joshua Lau
Oscar Wang
Alex Grossman
U10 Girls
Megan Setiabudi
Clarise Koh
Alannah Byrne
Coaches
Darryl Johansen
Ketevan Arakhamia
David Arutunian
This may be the last chance for you to support the World Youth Australian Chess Team before they leave for Batumi in mid Oct and you would be helping to support the future of Junior Chess. For all contributions of $20 or above, we will be sending a daily email detailing the team’s performance. Please email Eunice Koh on eunicekoh@optusnet.com.au to advise email address.
All contributions are gladly welcome (even anonymous) and cheques can be made payable to the Australian Chess Federation and posted to Eunice Koh to:-
World Youth Chess Tournament
C/- E Koh
PO Box 262
Penshurst NSW 2222
Thanks very much on behalf of the Team.
Best regards
Eunice Koh
Team Manager – World Youth Chess
Myer Tan Australian Chess Grand Prix
Brian Jones' appointment as the Organiser of the Myer Tan Australian Chess Grand Prix has been continued for 2007 and he is already preparing the program for next year. Here is his recent note on entering your events.
Dear Chess Colleague
Entry forms for the 2007 Myer Tan Australian Grand Prix are now available at http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/grandprix2007/index.cfm.
Please enter by the end of November so that programs can be printed before Xmas.
Brian Jones
Australian Chess Enterprises
The 2006 Myer Tan Australian Chess Grand Prix is still far from over. Here are the events yet to be contested. More information about them can be found on the Grand Prix webpage www.chessaustralia.com.au/grandprix/index.cfm.
Laurieton Spring Open NSW Laurieton 28/10/06 29/10/06 Cat.1
Elwood Championship VIC Melbourne 04/11/06 07/11/06 Cat.1
Gosford Open NSW Gosford 04/11/06 05/11/06 Cat.1
Burnie Open TAS Burnie 04/11/06 05/11/06 Cat.1
Coffs Harbour Open NSW Coffs Harbour 11/11/06 12/11/06 Cat.3
Ralph Seberry Memorial NSW Sydney 18/11/06 19/11/06 Cat.2
November Weekender QLD Brisbane 18/11/06 19/11/06 Cat.2
Best in the West VIC Melbourne 25/11/06 26/11/06 Cat.1
Tuggeranong Vikings ACT Canberra 02/12/06 03/12/06 Cat.1
Xmas Open WA Perth 02/12/06 03/12/06 Cat.1
Christmas Swiss Weekender VIC Melbourne 16/12/06 17/12/06 Cat.1
2007 Sydney International
Brian Jones of Australian Chess Enterprises is organising this event to be held next April for which
invitations have been sent around the world
More information is available at http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/open/index.cfm and I hope to have some more news about it next time.
Tailpiece
I have held over a few less urgent matters so as to get this issue out as quickly as I could. I'll put them in next time.
Meanwhile, I shall welcome any contributions such as tournament news and reports, games and other items of general interest related to Australian chess. I'll also welcome letters to the Editor. They will published at the Editor's discretion and subject to editing.
And now I'll say goodbye until next time.
Denis Jessop
E-mail; denis.jessop@netspeed.com.au
Post: 33 Cargelligo Street, Duffy, ACT 2611
02 6288 1935
0418 278 324