From: "Graeme Gardiner" <graemeg@isage.aunz.net> To: "Graeme Gardiner" <graemeg@isage.aunz.net> Subject: ACF Bulletin # 142 - 25 November 2001 Date: Sunday, November 25, 2001 6:00 ACF Bulletin # 142 - 25 November 2001 IN THIS ISSUE 2002 Calendars, Australian Championships, Australian Junior Championships, Australian Schools Teams Championships, Australian Problem Solving Scene, Tribute to GM Tony Miles, Death of Evelyn Fitzpatrick, Asian Under 16 Girls Chess Championships, All India Chess Federation Golden Jubilee, World Championships, ACF Admin Fees, 2001 Grand Prix, Fairfield RSL Summer Cup, 2002 Grand Prix, Summer Open at St George Leagues Club, Oropesa Wrap Up, Correspondence. 2002 CALENDARS It is hoped that clubs and states are now well advanced with 2002 calendars. It would be appreciated if all clubs would endeavour to include at least one Grand Prix event in their calendar and that WA and Victoria endeavour to provide sufficient events to give their local players an opportunity to win the Grand Prix. AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS, MELBOURNE TOWN HALL 28 DECEMBER 2001 TO 9 JANUARY 2002 The ACF Executive have considered the conditions for the Australian Championships as contained in the tournament entry booklet. The executive congratulated Gary Wastell and his team on a very professional presentation, together with the substance of the festival and the amount of sponsorship raised. The committee did an outstanding job in a relatively short period of time. All conditions were approved except the time controls. With respect to the time controls, the committee undoubtedly acted in good faith in choosing the controls that they did for the Australian Championships, Reserves and Seniors. Significant correspondence has been received regarding the time controls from top level players and players of lesser ability. The ACF Executive is of the belief that there is an overwhelming voice of opinion that the time controls are too short for a tournament run on one game a day. We believe that the Australian Championships are primarily for the benefit of the players and with such a strong voice of opinion we need to take heed. All things taken into account, the ACF Executive have stipulated time controls for the Australian Championships, Australian Reserves and Australian Seniors of 90 minutes a side plus 60 seconds a move from move one (Fischer controls). This seems to us to satisfy the needs of the vast majority of players without presenting problems to the organising committee. With the amount of work that Gary and his team have put into this event, it is very much hoped that the chess community around the country will get behind the tournament and make it one of the most successful ever. It deserves to be. A list of people, clubs, shops etc from whom Australian Championships entry forms may be obtained, can be found at www.chessvictoria.com. The official Australian Championships website is at http://chess.weblinks.com.au/austch.htm. The current ACF Bye Laws relating to the Australian Championships can be found at http://www.auschess.org.au/newcon/. AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, CRANBROOK SCHOOL, SYDNEY 12-24 JANUARY 2002 The official Australian Junior Championships website is at http://www.auschess.org.au/nswjcl/Australian_Junior/Aus_junior_main.htm. AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALS, ANGLICAN CHURCH GRAMMAR SCHOOL, BRISBANE 15/16 DECEMBER 2001 If finalists have not already received full details including an entry form and accommodation registration form, please email Ian Murray on chessqld@optushome.com.au. AUSTRALIAN PROBLEM COMPOSING SCENE My apologies to Nigel Nettheim and the problem composing group. I inadvertently referred to problem solving last week when I meant problem composing. TRIBUTE TO THE LATE GM TONY MILES BY HIS GOOD FRIEND IM ALEX WOHL Dear Chess Friends, This morning family and friends of Anthony J Miles met to say their final farewells at Lodge Hill Crematorium and Cemetary. His Father and Mother also had their final service there and all in the last few years. Many of the remaining relatives were understandably devastated. His Aunty Dev told me Tony promised to look after her in her old age and she couldn't stop crying. 46 is just too young. I first met Tony in the late 80's and became friends when we were both living in Adelaide in the early 90's. He stayed at my place for several months and we analysed chess every day. When he arrived I was a 2200 player. A few months later I won the Australian Championship and then became an IM. I owe him a debt that cannot be repaid. Over the years we played in many tournaments together and also spent a lot of time together away from chess. Several years ago we went to Andorra where he taught me how to ski. This required a lot of patience and a good sense of humour, both of which he had in plentiful supply. We last spoke via instant messenger on Saturday the 10th November, planning tournaments. He was his usual cheerful witty self and the only complaint he had was that the organisers of the Merida tournament in Mexico had still not released details about the tournament. We both played in 1999 and wanted to go again this year. There are many tributes to Tony on the net and many of his games have been published. Those of us lucky enough to have known Tony personally enjoyed his company immensely and he was a great entertainer. After a friend of ours lost an important game in a particularly stupid way, Tony entertained us with his most ridiculous losses. He considered the following game as his most entertaining. Play through it and just enjoy. Alex Atalik S - Miles A 1993 King's Indian Defence Saemisch Variation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.Qd2 e6 9.Rd1 b6 10.Bg5 Ba6 11.d5 Ne5 12.b3 h6 13.Be3 exd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Qxd5 b5 16.cxb5 Bxb5 17.Nc1 Bc6 18.Qd2 f5 19.Qxd6 Qe8 20.Qxc5 fxe4 21.f4 Nd3 22.Nxd3 exd3 23.Kf2 Rc8 24.Qc4 Kh8 25.Qxd3 g5 26.Rc1 Rd8 27.Qe2 gxf4 28.Bc5 f3 29.Qxe8 fxg2 30.Bxf8 gxh1=N 0-1 DEATH OF EVELYN FITZPATRICK Those who new Evelyn will be very saddened by her death. She was one of the kindest and most helpful people I have had the good fortune to meet. Jenni Oliver from the ACT has written the following tribute to Evelyn. The death of Evelyn Fitzpatrick a week ago should have come as no surprise, as she has been seriously ill for many years. Such was her indomitable spirit, that I felt that she would beat any illness. Evelyn had a burning desire to get everything out of life and was always involved up to her neck in craft stalls, school canteens and more and more in her last few years, Junior Chess. I do not think it is any exaggeration to say that the ACT Primary and High Schools Championships would not have happened this year, without her involvement. Even in September, when her heath was failing, she was at the Girls and Open High Schools finals, doing registrations and taking results. Evelyn loved children and any child doing badly at a comp, could be sure of a shoulder to cry on and an offer of a massage. Not that Evelyn was any saint – she was as tough as an old boot, could swear like a trooper and no-one told her what to do. She was incredibly kind and kept herself well clear of any chess politics. One episode I remember clearly, indicates how Evelyn operated. Andrew (her son), was playing in the Toukley U2000 in 1998. At that stage she would not have known anyone at the club including DOP Brian Jones. Within half an hour of the first round starting, Evelyn had evicted Brian from his chair and sent him off to watch games. She then spent the rest of the weekend, taking results and organising the cards into point groups ready for Brian to do the next draw. One of Evelyn’s cherished aims was to see Radford College recognise chess officially at the school. This happened in August, with Andrew being appointed the first Captain of Chess at Radford - I am glad she lived long enough to see it. I will miss Evelyn as a dear friend – and Canberra Chess will be poorer for her absence. ASIAN UNDER 16 GIRLS CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS 22-29 DECEMBER 2001 How about Christmas in Malaysia? The Malaysian Chess Federation will host this event in conjunction with the ASEAN Girls Under 16 in Kuala Lumpur over Christmas. Participants must have been born after 1 January 1985. Players will be accommodated in twin share rooms and provided with three meals daily. Players pay US$40 per day if they wish to have single accommodation. Delegates, coaches and accompanying persons must pay US$40 per day for twin share with three meals, and US$80 per day if they require single accommodation. Registration forms are due in by 5 December 2001. There will be two rounds a day on 23, 24, 26 and 27 December and one round on the 28th. Christmas Day is a rest day. Time controls are two hours a side. This is a great opportunity for a girl who might have just missed out on Australian selection for the World Juniors. Or maybe there is a girl who played in the World Juniors who would like to have another go. Please contact Brett Tindall sydneyacademy@iprimus.com.au or myself ggardiner@auschess.org.au if you are interested in representing Australia at this important event. ALL INDIA CHESS FEDERATION GOLDEN JUBILEE - CONDCUT OF INTERNATIONAL OPEN CHESS AT CALICUT, 17-25 DECEMBER 2001. You may be aware that the All India Chess Federation (AICF) is organising an International Open Chess Tournament at Calicut from 17th December 2001 (Arrival Date 16th December 2001) to 25th December 2001, marking the commencement of AICF's Golden Jubilee Celebrations. The tournament will be held at Hotel Taj Residency, Calicut. In this connection we are pleased to extend free board & lodging to one player from your Federation. Kindly confirm the name of your player on or before 5th December 2001 to enable us to make necessary hotel reservation for him. We also request you to forward to us in the format attached the particulars of your other players (GMs, IMs and others) whom you wish to participate in the above event, within the stipulated time. Thank you very much. P.T. Ummer Koya Hon. Secretary, AICF Players interested in representing Australia in this important event should contact Robert Jamieson auschess@ozemail.com.au or myself ggardiner@auschess.org.au WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Michael Gluzman and Ngan Koshnitsky will be representing Oceania in the World Championships which commence on Tuesday 27 November. Full details at http://wcc2001.fide.com/read.cgi?html=pair1. Michael rated 2400 plays Evgeny Bareev of Russia rated 2719 in round one. Ngan rated 2182 plays Almira Skripchenko-Lautier 2494. The first game will run from 8pm to midnight (Brisbane time) on Tuesday and the second game at the same time on Wednesday. If a tiebreak is required, it will run from 1am to 5am on Thursday. Best of luck to Michael and Ngan in these two very tough encounters. ACF ADMIN FEES States should note that the administration fee is applicable only to tournaments or events that commenced after 1 April 2001. There was some confusion over whether it applied to tournaments commencing before and finishing after 1 April 2001. This is not the case. 2001 GRAND PRIX - NORM BRAYBROOKE (Norm's email address is chessnut@windsor.net.au and webpage http://crcchess.topcities.com/GP2001.htm) Just a reminder that we always welcome more details of Grand Prix events for publication in this bulletin. The remaining events for 2001 are: 8/9 Dec Tuggeranong Vikings Weekender ACT Cat 1 Lee Forace 02 9556 3960 ljforace@hotmail.com 15/16 Dec Melbourne Chess Club Christmas Swiss VIC Cat 2 Malcolm Pyke dexter@labyrinth.net.au 15/16 Dec Fairfield RSL Pre Christmas Cup NSW Cat 2 Rolando Atienza 0421379940 atienzarolando@hotmail.com.au CITY OF FAIRFIELD RSL SUMMER CUP Venue: Fairfield RSL Club 14 Anzac Avenue Fairfield NSW 2165 (right next to the Fairfield Railway Station) Dates: 15/16 December 2001. Times: 10:00am (Note: Late Entries not accepted) 6 Round Swiss - 1 Hour per player per game Cat 1 Grand Prix Event (all games rated) Entry Fees: $50 Full Entry, $40 Pensioner/Student, $30 Junior U18, $25 Junior U15. Prizes 1st $800 2nd $500 3rd $300 Director of Play and Enquiries: Robert Keast rkeast@didata.com.au ph:0417-497-258 Entries only accepted on 15th Dec before 10:00 am on entry form. 2002 GRAND PRIX http://crcchess.topcities.com/GP2002.html We have now received 14 events for the 2002 Grand Prix. The ACF is seeking a national sponsor for the 2002 Grand Prix. Any assistance with this matter would be appreciated. 9/10 Feb Newcastle Open NSW Cat 2 George Lithgow 02 4943 3862 george.lithgow@bigpond.com 16/17 Feb Taree RSL Summer Open NSW Cat 1 Endel Lane 02 6559 9060 endel@fasternet.com.au 9/10 Mar South West Open WA Cat 1 Alan Phillips 08 9725 4843 alanglo@tpg.com.au 16/17 Mar Dubbo RSL Open NSW Cat 1 Alexander Aich 02 6884 4561 sjaich@tpg.com.au 29 Mar to 1 Apl Doeberl Cup ACT Cat 3 Roger McCart 02 6251 6190 roger.mccart@anu.edu.au 4/5 May Laurieton May Open NSW Cat 1 Endel Lane 02 6559 9060 endel@fasternet.com.au 22/23 June Taree RSL Open NSW Cat 1 Endel Lane 02 6559 9060 endel@fasternet.com.au 22/23 June Gold Coast Open QLD Cat 3 Graeme Gardiner 07 5530 5794 ggardiner@auschess.org.au 29/30 June Suncoast Open Chess Tournament Noosa QLD Cat 3 Robert Hochstadt 07 5447 5056 robhoch@ozemail.com.au 13/14 July Adelaide University Open SA Cat 2 Robin Wedding 08 8303 3029 chess@smug.adelaide.edu.au 10/11 August Coal City Open NSW Cat 2 George Lithgow 02 4943 3862 george.lithgow@bigpond.com 21/22 Sept Gold Coast Classic QLD Cat 3 Graeme Gardiner 07 5530 5794 ggardiner@auschess.org.au 2/3 Nov Laurieton Open NSW Cat 1 Endel Lane 02 6559 9060 endel@fasternet.com.au 16/17 Nov Taree RSL Spring Open NSW Cat 1 Endel Lane 02 6559 9060 endel@fasternet.com.au THE SUMMER OPEN TOURNAMENT AT ST GEORGE LEAGUES CLUB Venue: St. George Leagues Club 124 Princes Highway Kogarah (Easy walk from Carlton train station) Licensed Club Rules apply Dates: 4, 11, 18 Dec and 8, 15, 22, and 29 Jan starting at 7.30pm on all days. Prize giving ceremony and lightning 7:30pm 5 Feb 2002 Prizes for each Division 1st $300 2nd $200 3rd $100 $90 Special Prize (Best St. George Leagues Club Member) Players eligible for one prize only. Number of divisions will depend on the number of entries. Time Control 40 moves in 90 minutes, then 30 minutes per player to complete the game. Format 7 Round Swiss Entry Fees $45.00 (includes 2002 St. George Chess Club Membership) Enquiries to: Bob Keast 0417 497 258 or Charles Zworestine 9556 3960 Post entries, with your name, address, phone number, rating and St. George Leagues Club badge number (if applicable), to Charles Zworestine 5/10 Crawford Road, Brighton-le-Sands NSW 2216. Entries will also be accepted on the first night (4/12/2001). Note: Those players participating in the Australian Championships may take a half-point bye for the round of Tuesday 8 January 2002, if they so desire. OROPESA WRAP UP - JENNI OLIVER It is a few weeks since we returned from the World Youth Festival in Oropesa, but hopefully not too late to make some acknowledgments. First I would like to thank Manuel Weeks and Ian Rogers and Graeme Gardiner for their help in sorting out the coaching. Manuel was unable to go, due to the ill heath of his mother and it was very hard to find someone else – particularly with the threat of war and terrorist attacks. The coach – Diego - was a great success and the kids whom he was teaching were entirely happy. Thank-you also to Manuel for persuading Marina D’or to give us good accommodation – Helen Tan even got her sea views and everyone was happy. Thank-you also to the Soltysiks for the lovely uniforms. All the children played very well and tried their hardest – that is not a glib statement to make people feel good. Every child put their whole heart into it – they took their coaching seriously and went into every game wanting to win. People might look at the results and say “oh so and so didn’ t do very well” – unless you’ve been there and seen the standard of competition, it is so hard to appreciate how tough it is and how much stress there is on the kids. Australia is very competitive in the U10’s but each age division up get harder and harder, as the better coaching and experience weighs in. Every child aims to get 50% or better, but each point and half point is dearly won. Many of the European countries now have immigrants, both as players and coaches and the old “strong countries” can send multiple players. We were blessed with very good weather (until the last day) and Muslims, Christians and Jews all mixed in happily and Afghanistan seemed unreal. The Australians are always popular as they spread their soft toys and boomerangs to every end of the globe! This year the Australians and New Zealanders spent a lot of time together, (as well as our Slovenian friend – Rok Hrzica). Thank you as always to our wonderful coaches, Ian Rogers, Michael Gluzman, Diego and Gary Lane. A special thank-you to Cathy Rogers for all her support. Next year - Crete. (Editor's note: A special and very big thank you to Jenni Oliver for the fantastic job she has done in organising the team for the last three years. It is a huge ask. On top of that the Oliver family have very generously sponsored the coaching preparations, the cost of which is currently well beyond the reach of the ACF). CORRESPONDENCE ANDY SAG Graeme, I was interested to read about the proposed award for problems. I am a solver (and occasionally a composer when I get time) as well as a player and would strongly support such a move. You would be surprised at the number of people who get pleasure out of chess problems. Andy Sag ZONG YUAN ZHAO Dear Graeme I have just come back from my overseas trip. I read something in the bulletins about debate for the time controls and I think personally I would also lean towards using the classical time limits we have had before. In my travels around Europe as far as I could see several coutries didn't comply with the new FIDE time controls so I don't really see why we should. I agree that it is only good if we are going to play two games a day like in the Zonal but if we are not at the Australian Championships then why should we use it? Best wishes Zong Yuan Zhao PETER CAISSA Graeme After following the debate concerning time controls for the next Australian Championships, I've come to one conclusion - the only loser is Chess. Those (including FIDE) who want to make chess "attractive" to a sponsor forget that it is already attractive, it's the marketing that is at fault, not chess. I hope we won't be seeing the "McChess Championships" (it comes with extra time with every move?!) ? Signed Disgusted Peter Caissa ADRIAN FLITNEY Dear Graeme Concerning time controls. I will add my voice to those wanting longer time controls for the Australian Championships. There are many reasons for this and I think that they have all been covered in previous postings but I summarise my reasons here: 1) There is no compulsion to follow the much critised FIDE time limits 2) There is only one game per day and so no need to complete games within around four hours as there is in a weekend tournament 3) The Australian Championships has always had longer time limits (with the idea of getting higher quality games) than the standard weekend tournaments 4) People want to feel that they are getting value for their time and money if they are spending two weeks and considerable expense to come to Melbourne 5) Most players favour longer time limits for the Australian Championships Adrian Flitney GEORGE LITHGOW Graeme. If the Australian Championships remain as a one game a day event I believe that the time limit of 90M +30s Fischer is too short and will discourage participation in the event, especially from persons who intend to go to Melbourne for a holiday and the event. I believe that the Fischer system is great for this type of event for there is no problems of rounds running into the time space of the succeeding rounds. A 2hr + 30sec seems to me to be a good compromise. However, for juniors this is too long, a shorter time limit would be better with 2 or 3 rounds /day Regards George Lithgow CHARLES ZWORESTINE Dear Graeme, What can I say? I thoroughly agree that the time controls currently proposed for the Australian Championships are inappropriate, as they will result in most games being completed in under four hours (the average game of chess being only 40 moves long). Since the tournament schedule has only one game per day, why not use the full time allotted and improve the quality of chess via a six or seven hour session? Nor is following FIDE a reason to adopt these time controls, as FIDE only specify a minimum time control, and we would not be acting in any way contrary to FIDE by adopting a time control of, say, 90 minutes plus 60 seconds per move (my personal preference). Finally, and most importantly, this is a tournament run for the players, and my impression from the various emails I have read and from talking to players is that the vast majority of them would prefer a longer time control - so why not give the players what they want? Nobody can accuse me of any vested interests here; indeed as one of the designated arbiters for the tournament, I am in fact increasing my workload by proposing longer time controls! The shorter time controls proposed would mean I would not have to stay at the venue for as long, so I would in effect be doing less work. To me, however, this is not the point - I am trying to act in the best interests of chess. It is far more important to create a better tournament for the players than to artificially minimise the workload of arbiters/administrators at the players' expense. I believe at least one of my fellow arbiters, Gary Bekker, agrees with me on this point - I have not spoken to the others, but I would be interested to hear their points of view... As President of the NSW Junior Chess League and one of the arbiters of the Australian Junior Championships as well, I feel very strongly about this. Naturally, I also agree with the motion put by Richard Gastineau-Hills to the National Conference to change the time controls for the Juniors, as well as all the reasons he gave for this proposed change. The juniors would struggle even more to keep up the quality of their play at the reduced time controls - even if they do not use all of their allotted time, this is not a reason to not provide them with a chance to play better quality chess by giving them more time (should they choose to use it)... Regards, Charles Zworestine. KERRY STEAD Hi Graeme, Having seen the correspondence in the ACF Bulletin over the past few weeks, I thought I'd add my thoughts to those of other in the chess community. I agree with the vast majority of players that the proposed 90 mins + 30 seconds per move time control is unsuitable for an Australian Championships. The 90 + 30s/move time control is ideal for tournaments with 2 games per day (for example the Oceania Zonal), however with only one game a day, this is unnecessarily quick, although it does allow more time to see the sights of Melbourne. As far as a suitable time control is concerned, the 'traditional' 40/120 + 20/60 + 30 is good, however with the use of digital clocks, perhaps the time control used for a tournament such as the Johann Thorir Jonsson Memorial in Rekyavik earlier in the year, which used a time control of 100 minutes for 40 moves + 30 seconds per move, followed by 30 minutes for 20 moves + 30 seconds per move and finally 10 minutes + 30 seconds a move the rest of the game. This is roughly equivalent to the traditional time control, but incorporates the Fischer time controls, thereby avoiding (in theory at least) a severe reduction in the quality of play. As far as time controls and number of games per day for the Australian Juniors are concerned, I think the time controls proposed by the NSWJCL (90 minutes + 60 seconds per move for U18s and 60 minutes + 60 seconds per move for U12s) are perfectly suitable. If the increment is increased too much to accomodate for the less experienced players who may have difficulty in recording the moves, the games have the potential to continue for too long (one could imagine something like a Smerdon - Zhao clash where both players were playing for a win and the game went for 100 moves. With 60 seconds per move, that would mean the game could go for up to 6 hours 20 minutes, however with a 120 second increment, that would increase to up to 9 hours 40 minutes! Surely this is too long!). As far as the under 12s is concerned, although 2 rounds per day is possible given the speed at which a vast majority of the youngsters play, part of the reason for the longer time controls and one game per day is to allow the children to have a serious think about their games. In my experience as a coach at the last Australian Juniors, this speed of play was the cause of a majority of errors from the players, and trying to encourage the children to take more time about their moves had to be continually reinforced. When this happened, the play and results improved accordingly. Surely this is what the aim of the Championships is - to have children playing the best quality chess they can. If the length of time is a concern, there are always tournaments such as the rapid play and lightning to compete in. The other problem for the 2 rounds per day option is the huge increase in the coaching in recent years. Not only does it become tough to accomplish logistically for coaches to fit numerous sessions in during the day, but 2 coaching sessions and 2 games per day would be very tough for the younger children. As far as the concerns about children being upset for a large proportion of the day after a loss - unfortunately that is just the nature of the game, and the children, like the rest of us, have to take the good with the bad. Regards, Kerry Stead With very best wishes to all. Graeme Gardiner President Australian Chess Federation 11 Hardys Road Mudgeeraba Queensland 4213 Phone +61 7 5530 5794 Mobile 0438 305797 Fax +61 7 5530 6959 Email ggardiner@auschess.org.au Chess - the Clever Sport! �