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.d3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 h6 12.Nf1 Nh7 13.Ne3 Ng5 14.h3 Be6 15. Nh2 g6 16.d4 h5 17.Nd5 f6 18.f4 exf4 19.Bxf4 cxd4 20.cxd4 Bxd5 21.exd5 f5 22.Rxe7 Qxe7 23.Qd2 Nxh3+ 24.gxh3 Nc4 25.Qg2 Qf6 26.Nf3 Rfe8 27.Bd3 Ne3 28.Qh2 Nxd5 29.Bxd6 Re3 30.Be5 Qb6 31.Be2 Re8 32.Kh1 f4 33.Rg1 Qe6 34.Bd1 Rc8 35.Qg2 Kf8 36.Bb3 Qf5 37.Bxd5 Rc2 38.Qf1 Ree2 39.Bb3 Rxb2 40.d5??

( 41.Nxe5 Rh2# )

GM Rogers, Ian    --    FM Geveke, Michael
Queenstown Classic  (3)   Queenstown
2006     0-1

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 7.Qg4 f6 8. Nf3 Nc6 9.Qg3 Qf7 10.Bb5 Ne7 11.dxc5 O-O 12.O-O Nf5 13.Qf4 Nce7 14.exf6 gxf6 15.Nd4 Kh8 16.Nxf5 Nxf5 17.f3 Qe7 18.a4 Qxc5+ 19.Kh1 Qxc3 20.Ba3 e5 21.Qc1 Rg8 22.Bb2 Qc5 23.f4 d4 24.fxe5 Qd5 25.Qd2 Ne3 26.Rf2 Bh3 27.Rg1 fxe5 28.Bf1 Raf8 29.c4 Qe4 30.Rxf8 Rxf8 31.Bd3 Qc6 32.Qe2 Rg8 0-1

FM Geveke, Michael    --    IM Smerdon, David
Queenstown Classic  (4)   Queenstown
2006     0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.g3 c5 3.d5 e6 4.c4 exd5 5.cxd5 g6 6.Nc3 d6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9.Nd2 a6 10.a4 Nbd7 11.Nc4 Nb6 12.Na3 Bd7 13.O-O Re8 14.Qb3 Nxa4 15.Nxa4 b5 16.Nc3 b4 17.Nc4 bxc3 18.Nxd6 Rb8 19.Qc2 cxb2 20.Bxb2 Rxb2 21. Qxb2 Ne4 22.Qxg7+ Kxg7 23.Nxe4 Bb5 24.Rfc1 Qxd5 25.Nf6 Qd6 26.Nxe8+ Bxe8 27.Ra2 Bb5 28.Rac2 c4 29.e3 h5 30.h4 Qe5 31.Kh2 g5 32.f4 Qxe3 33.fxg5 a5 34.Rf1 Qd3 35.Rcf2 Qd7 36.Bf3 c3 37.Rd1 Qf5 38.Rd5 Qc8 39.Bxh5 c2 40.Rxf7+ Kg8 41.Rf6 Be8 42.Bxe8 c1=Q 43.Bf7+ Kg7 44.Rdf5 Q8c2+ 45.Rf2 Qe4 46.R6f3 Qeb1 47.Kh3 Qh1+ 48.Kg4 Qe4+ 0-1

ACF President's report

The year 2005

The year 2005 has, perhaps fortunately for me, been a relatively quiet one.

The most public matter has been the aftermath of the Australian Open and Junior Championships 2004/2005 held at Mt Buller, which has still to be fully dealt with. A lot of criticism has been made, especially on the Chess Chat Forum, of George Howard as a result of the events. Some of this has been justified but much of it, like much else that appears on that Forum, has been uninformed and irresponsible. Moreover, he was not the only member of the Organising Committee.

During the year George resigned his position as Vice President and Bill Gletsos was elected in his place.

In a more positive vein, Brian Jones was appointed to organise the ACF Grand Prix for 2006 and already it seems that this event may undergo a re-birth with generous sponsorship and efficient organisation.

We also received a response to our advertisement for a Junior Chess Selection Coordinator and d an Olympiad Appeal Organiser - from Brett Tindall in each case. Whilst a wider response would have been welcome, Brett's appointment is much appreciated and we look forward to success on both fronts.

This year (2006) is an Olympiad year which has implications for us. Already applications for selection for the teams have been invited. Also it is an election year with a challenge for the Presidency so we shall have to consider what position to take on that.

The newly-established Junior Chess Subcommittee has been slow to get under way, partly because of an apparent reluctance by some members to be involved in discussions on relevant topics. On the other hand, the Henry Ergas Junior Development scheme has again been successful and we are grateful to Mr Ergas for his continued sponsorship.

This being my first year as President, I have to thank all the ACF Councillors for their cooperation and tolerance over one or two lengthy phone meetings. I had the misfortune in mid-year to be diagnosed with colon cancer which required a relatively major operation and a couple of months' absence from duty. My thanks go to Gary Wastell for so ably acting as President during that period. I'm glad to say that all now seems to be well. Thanks also Norm Greenwood and Jey Hoole for their excellent work as Executive Officers. As usual Kevin Bonham also contributed significantly, notably with the Junior Selections which are always a potential problem but which this year went smoothly thanks to Kevin. Finally thanks to Bill Gletsos not only for his most efficient oversight of the ratings system but also for his calculation of the 2005 Grand Prix results when it appeared likely that these would not be ready before the end of the year.

Future directions

I should like to make a few brief comments about the ACF and its role in Australian chess.

In the time since I became an ACF Councillor in about 1997, it has been noticeable that, with the exception of Graeme Gardiner's attempts at structural and financial reform, the ACF has more or less confined itself to routine matters. Moreover, its modus operandi gives it little opportunity to do more than that. As will be remembered, Graeme's structural reforms were rejected but the financial reforms were substantially accepted. This has resulted in the ACF's financial position now being much healthier than it was a few years ago.

Significantly, too, in those few years changes have occurred on the Australian chess scene with the appearance of a number of quite successful commercial businesses the role of which in Australian chess commands attention.

I believe it is clear that the ACF should no longer just be content to keep the wheels turning over. It is in a position to do something more positive and should do so.

I see there being two options, not mutually exclusive but long- and short-term.

The Short-term option

This option would involve a more positive role for the ACF within its existing structure. I deal with it first as it is of a practical and immediate nature and could be begun this year.

The ACF now has more funds available to devote to its constitutional object of fostering chess throughout Australia and so has some capacity actively to promote chess undertakings.

Possible projects that immediately come to mind are a Player Development Fund as an expansion of the present Ergas Junior Program and chess development in less-developed areas such as the Northern Territory already set out to us by David Cordover.

Careful consideration would need to be given to what funds are available to this end, what projects would be suitable for the use of those funds and what priorities are to be allocated to those projects.

Another consideration is the possibility of cooperation with commercial chess businesses to perform functions on behalf of the ACF as a business undertaking, that is for a fee. The first steps have already been taken here in respect of a well-established ACF event - the Grand Prix.

There is no reason why this could not be extended to other projects or to other ACF events such as the Australian Championships for which the ACF should be prepared to take responsibility instead of passing it to the States. Indeed, the ACF's traditional ducking of responsibility for the financial outcome of those events may be one reason for the Mt Buller shambles.

The Long-term Option

I believe that there needs to be a complete reconsideration of the structure of the ACF to reflect adequately its national character. Such things as individual membership and a reassessment of the role of State Associations would need to be addressed.

Australia may be unique in that it had a national championship before it was a nation. But the ACF was not formed until 1922 when it was a loose assemblage of State bodies to oversee the running of the Australian Championship. It remained in that general condition for 65 years until its incorporation in 1987. That incorporation had an effect that seems not to have been fully appreciated. Upon incorporation, a legal entity separate from the State Associations was created with nationally-expressed objectives. Unfortunately, the old concept of the new body merely as an assemblage of State Associations was preserved by the new Constitution. Thus we have a national body unable adequately to pursue its national objectives because of a dominance of State interests in matters that largely do not concern them. While State and Territory Associations and their affiliated clubs are responsible for the running of 90% or more of chess activities in Australia, there are national matters that are properly the responsibility of the national body as such, not of the States. Such a concept was recognised upon the establishment of the Australian Federal Government in 1901 but has yet to be recognised in the chess federation.

To achieve this end a considerable amount of re-education will be needed and that is why it is long-term.

- Denis Jessop
President
6 January 2006

The Golden Dozen: A Report on the Aust. Champs/Juniors and Associated Brisbane Events

by Charles Zworestine

Well OK, I am using a bit of poetic licence here! While there were originally meant to be an even dozen events, a disappointing turnout of only 5 seniors meant that this was not in fact run as a separate event, but instead combined with the Major. So the organising team of Graeme and Wendy Gardiner, John Humphrey, Ian Murray and Lionel Smerdon "only" had 11 events to organise, not 12! A Herculean test, which they nonetheless passed with flying colours. Thus leaving me to report on these 11 events, which I will do adults first then juniors, and in order from shorter time limits to longer:

It was the zenith of Zong-Yuan Zhao's efforts in Brisbane, anyway! The 19 year old is the new Australian Lightning Champion, winning the event with the outstanding score of 12/13. Along the way he beat Igor Bjelobrk, Stephen Solomon, Leonid Sandler, Lee Jones (who upset Igor Goldenberg early), Moulthun Ly (reigning Australian Junior Champion at the time), and Igor Goldenberg. Only Norwegian visitor Geir Sune Tallaksen could stop him from registering a perfect score. Bjelobrk got second on 10/13, with Tallaksen and Ly equal third on 9.5, half a point ahead of Sandler and Goldenberg. Many times champion Stephen Solomon struggled for once, losing to Lee Jones as well as practically all the prize winners and finishing on just 8/13.

He HAD entered the junior rapid - but at the last second he changed his mind, and the precocious 14 year old decided to play in the adult event instead. So prodigiously talented is he that he won the whole thing! Helped by a stunning first round upset of top seed Igor Goldenberg by Sherab Guo-Yuthok, ninth seed Moulthun marched on, drawing with Stephen Solomon in Round 3 after winning his first two games. By the end of Round 4, Charles Pizzato was leading on 4/4; but Sandler drew with him in Round 5, enabling Ly and Solo to catch up. Moulthun then took care of Pizzato in Round 6; so the last round was reached with Solomon and Ly equal first on 5.5/6. But Sandler took care of Solo in the last round, enabling Ly to win the event on 6.5/7 by beating Mark Robertson; Sandler was second on 6, and Solo third on 5.5.

Over the second week, this Under 1800 event was run at 2 rounds a day over 11 rounds. It was a see-sawing affair, with second seed Tony Weller drawing already in Round 1, as did top seed Ernest Cheung in Rounds 2 and 3, fourth seed Leo Wilkinson in Round 2 and fifth seed Mos Ali in Round 3. By the end of Round 4, we had an outright leader in Mark Craven after Andrew Fitzpatrick had drawn with Eliot Hoving. And then the lead kept changing hands: Fitzpatrick and Hoving on 4.5 after Round 5 after Fitzy beat Craven, four of them in Round 6 when Fitzy drew with Cheung and Weller beat Hoving; and then Weller and Fitzy on 6 after Round 7. Fitzy was on his own after beating Weller in Round 8, but with Hoving only half a point behind after beating Cheung; then it was Hoving on his own on 7.5 after 9, when he beat Anthony Lam and Fitzy lost to Wilkinson. But a Hoving draw with Wilkinson enabled Fitzy to join him on 8/10 by beating Ali; and a last round Hoving loss to David Messina gave Fitzy the outright win on 9/11 when he beat Chris Poulton. Wilkinson was second on 8.5, and Hoving third on 8.

Played at the same time and using the same time controls (90 minutes each, plus 1 minute per move from the start - Fischer) as the main event (the Australian Championships), this was also a see-sawing affair! Top seed Kevin Sheldrick got off to a flyer, reaching 5/5 after his Round 5 win over Craig Duxbury seemed to persuade the latter to withdraw. Kevin conceded his first half point against Gavin Marner in Round 6, but still seemed bullet-proof after a Round 7 win over Dizdarevic. But then the crash: he lost to Neil Wright and Matthew Sonter in Rounds 8 and 9, enabling Wright to take the outright lead on 7.5/9 after having earlier drawn with Zvedeniouk and lost to Lee Jones. Neil beat Bob Krstic in Round 10, but was still not safe after Zvedeniouk took care of Sonter to remain just half a point behind. And then an amazing last round: Wright, Zvedeniouk and Sheldrick all lost, leaving Neil the winner on 8.5/11 from Ben Lazarus, Tredinnick and Zvedeniouk on 8. Krstic was seniors champion on 7/11, from Phil Viner and Lovejoy on 6.5.

There was a reason why three foreign GMs were in the field; and IM David Smerdon vindicated the organisers' decision by achieving his first GM norm with three rounds to spare! His was the story of the event, though he did not win it - even there he came close, joint leading all the way into the last round… From Rounds 2-6, he played all 5 GMs in the field consecutively - and did not lose a game! First a draw with top seeded GM Ftacnik, then wins over GMs Schmaltz and Johansen; a draw with GM Chandler, and a fighting endgame draw with GM Rogers. Not content with this, Smurf perpetrated a winning attack on defending champion IM Gary Lane, mated George Xie, had another endgame draw with IM Stephen Solomon and sacrificed a piece to checkmate IM Alex Wohl. Only a misfired piece sacrifice and a resultant last round loss to Igor Goldenberg prevented him from coming equal first; a superb performance nonetheless…

But while all this was going on, a familiar tale at the top: Ian Rogers winning yet another Australian Championship with the outstanding score of 9/11. Undefeated himself, Rogers conceded draws to only Lane, Ftacnik, Smerdon and Wohl. Defeats of Bjelobrk and Solomon were just warm-ups to victories over Chandler, Schmaltz and Johansen. A last round win for Ian over Raymond Song wrapped it up. Smurf had to be content with equal second on 8/11 with Chandler, who drew with Lane, Schmaltz, Solo and Dave while scoring a fighting win in an opposite coloured bishop ending against Ftacnik, as well as beating IM Zhao. Schmaltz would have been content with outright fourth on 7.5 after beating Zhao, Lane, Ftacnik and Wohl.

An astounding 106 players in this one: too many for me to give anything other than a brief summary of the winners! After taking an early half point bye, James Obst was up there with the leaders by Round 6 of this 13 round event. By then we had an outright leader, Gareth Oliver on 6/6, but James was one of many on 5; and James, Rukman Vijayakumar and Max Illingworth joined Gareth in the lead on 7 points by Round 8, when The Obstacle beat Gareth. By this stage Rukman had beaten Junta Ikeda, who had also lost to Casey Barnard; but the little fighter from Canberra had fought to within a point of Obst by Round 10, where he beat Gareth. Just when we thought The Obstacle was immovable, he drew with Junta in Round 11 and lost to Dusan Stojic in Round 12, leaving us with a tie for first at the end on 10.5/13 after they both won their last round games (Junta beating Dusan). James beat Junta in the playoff, so he is the new Australian Junior Lightning Champion; Gareth, Rukman and Dusan shared third on 10/13.

Even more astounding: 107 players this time! Do these juniors ever tire of chess? But happily, only 7 rounds; and the cream came to the top quickly, with the top four seeds (in order) Ronald Yu, Junta Ikeda, Michael Morris and James Cronan reaching 4/4. Round 5 was crucial, as Michael upset Ronald to take the outright lead on 5/5 after James and Junta drew. But unperturbed, the Junta Juggernaut rolled Michael in Round 6, and was suddenly sharing the lead with Edwin Wu after the latter stunned Ronald and James Cronan could only draw with Jonas Muller. A last round win for Junta over Edwin, and Junta was the Champion on 6.5/7; Michael beat Jonas to share second with James on 6, after the latter defeated Andrew Brown.

Not so much to say about this one, really! Emma Guo was clear favourite in this 15 player field, by more than 400 rating points; she was expected to win easily, and she did… Conceding only a draw with Karen Khoo, her winning score of 10.5/11 was the best in any event. Fifth seed Charmian Zhang did superbly to take outright second on 9.5, losing only to Emma and beating three higher rated players. Karen Khoo claimed third by herself on 8.5/11. In a tournament with very few upsets, only Round 4 stands out: there Karen shocked the higher rated Megan Setiabudi (still Under 10 Girls Champion), and Caroline Shan (second Under 10, and rated at just 183!) upset Katrina Knapp (726).

Interesting how the top seed rarely seems to win these events (Emma Guo excepted)! Yi Yuan was favourite; but it seemed to me quite early on that the event would be a two horse race between Yi (1574) and third seed Kelvin Finke (1526). Beating Liam McGarity in Round 3, Yi proceeded smoothly to 4/4, as did Kelvin. Their individual Round 5 game was obviously critical, and Kelvin prevailed to lead outright on 5/5; but then drawing with Jonathan Ren (4.5/5) kept things close. When Yi beat Jonathan in Round 7, the two horse race was still on, with Kelvin leading Yi by half a point. Enter Edward Xing, defeating Yi in Round 8 while Kelvin put paid to Liam. Was Kelvin safe? Of course not! Gene Nakauchi came into the picture, drawing with Yi in Round 9 while Edward drew with Kelvin, and then beating Kelvin in Round 10! Suddenly Liam and Kelvin were equal first on 8/10 going into the last round, with Yi and Gene on 7.5; but Kelvin remained calm to win his last round game and the Under 12 title outright on 9/11, while Gene beat Liam to share second with Yi on 8.5. The Under 10 title resulted in a playoff between Laurence Matheson and Joshua Lau, won by the former.

A 19 player, 11 round event, this one; and very competitive it was, too! Top seed Alex Jule just could not break away, but throughout the event she stayed calm - and undefeated… Miona Ikeda accepted her draw offer despite being ahead in Round 3; Kayleigh Smith drew with her in Round 4. Defeating dangerous rivals Jessica Kinder, Sally Yu and Deborah Ng, she then drew again, this time defending an ending against Susan Sheng. Then she beat Tamzin Oliver, but still she could not break away: just half a point above Sally Yu after 9 rounds. But then finally a Sally draw with Kieran Lyons gave her the breathing space she needed; and she wrapped up the title on 9/11 with a last round draw with Kieran. Sally was second, and Under 16 Champion after an outstanding event got her to 8/11; Kayleigh Smith took out the Under 14 title on 7.5.

Nothing like saving the best until last! This event raised a few interesting questions right from the start: could defending champion Moulthun Ly really manage playing in both the Juniors and the Championships, without tiring and fading at the end? Could Ronald Yu, Gareth Oliver or Vincent Suttor (who came so close last year) win it at their last attempt? If not, who would prevail? We had to wait to find out, amid much drama, with a stunning final result…

Moulthun made the pace early, winning his games with lightning speed to get to 3/3 while second seed Ronald Yu drew with Ben Harris in Round 2, where Edwin Wu upset fifth seed Dusan Stojic. Prophetically, Vincent was given a very tough fight before beating Justin Huang in Round 3, while Angela Song misplayed her winning rook ending against Sam Grigg and only drew… The top three boards (Gareth v Moulthun, James Cronan v Vincent and Junta Ikeda v Michael Morris) were all drawn in Round 4, leaving us with 8 leaders on 3.5/4. More draws in Round 5 (Vincent v Angela, and Michael v Gareth), and Moulthun was leading on his own on 4.5/5 after beating James Cronan. Then he beat Junta, and was still leading on 5.5/6, from Gareth (who beat Justin Huang) and Angela on 5/6. Could anyone stop him?

No answers in Round 7: draws for Angela v Moulthun and Gareth v Ronald, while Vincent joined the queue with a win. And then the fall for Moulthun: playing too fast, he suffered a crushing positional loss to Vincent in Round 8, got a forfeit from a very unfortunate sick Ronald (who had to withdraw) in Round 9 and then lost a bishop ending a pawn down to Justin Huang in Round 10! And during all this, Angela beat Gareth and Michael Morris to take a half point lead from Junta (who won a lengthy fighting struggle over Vincent in Round 9), which she protected in a beautiful game she was winning all the way against Junta in Round 10. Going in to the last round, the scores were Angela 8.5, Justin 7.5 and one of them had to win; could we have our first female Australian Junior Champion?

In typical fashion, they made us wait the whole final day… Missing a forced win on about move 30, Justin ground down Angela in 83 moves, winning the final rook ending with his last pawn (a rook pawn)! So, a playoff (both players on 8.5/11), and maximum drama. Angela was winning the first rapid playoff game the whole way, but Justin fought to eventually draw knight vs bishop a pawn down. Then Angela was worse in the second playoff game, but fought, turned it around and finished up winning a rook and pawn ending a pawn ahead! She was indeed our first female champion ever, and Justin was Under 16 champion; Edwin Wu (7/11) won the Under 14 title by winning a two game rapid playoff 1.5-0.5 against Andrew Brown.

2005 Australian Schools Championships

by Chief Arbiter Charles Zworestine

It was a sight to behold: four primary school aged girls laughing, embracing each other and generally looking as if they were having a great time! They were not the tournament winners, either: indeed the Wilderness School from South Australia finished last overall (on 5/16) in the primary girls section of the 2005 National Schools Finals. But in this particular match, they had just won the last game to draw their third round match with Somerville House from Queensland, the school who eventually claimed the third place trophy. And they were delighted about it: you'd think they had won the whole event! Their attitude and evident joy epitomised to me the spirit of this event; it was just as instigator Graeme Gardiner (who spoke magnificently at the opening ceremony) had intended…

In Sydney on the second weekend of December 2005, the NSWJCL put on an event that was full of this spirit, and indeed widely acknowledged as the best National Schools Finals yet. The venue was fantastic: from the playing venue to the analysis rooms to the boarding school, we owe a great debt of gratitude to Newington School. And indeed also to the huge team effort of the organising committee, especially Marge Lip, Bonnie Wu and Richard Gastineau-Hills: their terrific preparation ensured everything was in place for a great event. The social aspect was terrific too, with Marge and Bonnie putting on the dinner from heaven on the Saturday night: I have never attended such a widely praised dinner! And of course the chess, played at the standard time controls of 60 minutes plus 10 seconds per move from the start (Fischer), produced the usual excitement; so without further ado, let's move on to the chess…

Primary Girls Division

This event was won convincingly by the clear favourites, Curtin from the ACT, with 13/16. The team of Kayleigh Smith, Karen Khoo, Grace Huang and Natalie Shadwell started out with the aim of a clean score; so they were surprised (and so were a lot of other people) when they lost a game in the first round! They still won 3-1 against Wilderness (SA), then followed up with a second round 4-0 win against Summer Hill (NSW); so they just about had it wrapped up by the end of the first day (they had a third round bye in this five team event). Their toughest match was in Round 4 against PLC (Victoria), where Board 1 Sally Yu (PLC) beat Kayleigh for the first time ever (or so Sally told me); Curtin still won 3-1. But it could have been 2-2, as the Board 4 game was a thriller: Grace Huang managing to beat Sakthi Ravitharan with a knight and two pawns against queen and rook (see game below)! So PLC had to content themselves with second on 10/16, with Somerville House (Queensland) relegated to third after a final round 3-1 loss to Curtin.

Ravitharan, Sakthi    --    Huang, Grace
ASTC   Sydney
????     0-1     C58a

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Be2?! h6 7.Nf3 e4 8.Nd4 Qxd5 9.c3 c5 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bxd7+ Qxd7 12.Ne2 Qg4 13.d4 c4 14.Nf4 Qxd1+ 15.Kxd1 Bd6 16.b4 Nc6 17.b5 Na5 18.Ba3? Bxf4 19.g3 Bc7 20.Bb4 a6 21. bxa6 Rxa6 22.Na3 Rc6 23.Nb5 Bb6 24.Re1 Re6 25.Rb1 Nc6 26.Bc5 Bxc5 27.Nc7+ Kd7 28.Nxe6 Kxe6 29.dxc5 Rd8+ 30.Kc2 Rd7 31.Red1 Rxd1 32.Rxd1 Ne5 33.f4 Neg4 34.Rd6+ Kf5 35.h3 Ne3+ 36.Kd2 Nf1+ 37.Ke2 Nxg3+ 38.Kf2 Kxf4 39.Rd1 e3+ 40.Kg2 e2 41.Re1 Nge4 42.c6 bxc6 43.a4 Nxc3 44.a5 Nb5 45.a6 Nc7 46.a7 c3 47.Kf2 c2 48.Ra1 g5 49.Rc1 g4 50.hxg4 Kxg4 51.Rxc2 h5 52.Rxc6 Na8 53. Rc8 Nb6 54.Rb8 h4 55.Rxb6 h3 56.Rb1 Ne4+ 57.Ke3 Ng3 58.a8=Q h2 59.Qg2 f5 60.Rh1 f4+ 61.Kd2 f3 62.Qxh2 f2 63.Qg2 f1=Q 64.Qg1 e1=Q+

An amazing position

Primary Open Division: A Thriller!

This one proved to be the most exciting of the four events, with a clear division between the top three and the bottom three schools. The NSW School (Sydney Grammar St. Ives) were the favourites; but they were always going to be challenged by the Victorians (Essex Heights) and Queenslanders (Somerset College). How would they go? The first two rounds provided very few clues, as all three schools won against lower ranked opposition. Somerset, however, gained a head start by winning both their first two matches 4-0 to get to 8/8, while Grammar conceded two draws (7/8) and Essex Heights (6.5) a draw and a loss when their Board 1, James Morris, got the move order wrong and popped a piece!

Round 3 was the first critical match up (Essex Heights vs Grammar). Grammar Board 3 Bob Teoh overlooked a standard mating net and lost in 18 moves to Nicholas Liu; while on Board 2 Eugene Schon (Essex) beat William Xu (Grammar) (see game below). When Grammar Board 1 Raymond Song won a tense game against James Morris, Board 4 became the critical game. Justin Cheung (Grammar) was winning (an exchange ahead) against Jerome Lugo (Essex), but allowed his central passed pawns through and also lost. So 3-1 to Essex, while Somerset again won 4-0. Progress scores Somerset 12, Essex Heights 9.5 and Grammar 8 going into Day 2…

Xu, William    --    Schon, Eugene
ASTC   Sydney
????     0-1     C01i

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Nf3 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Qb3 Ne7 12.Rfe1 c6 13.Qc2 b6 14.b4 Qc7 15.Nb3 g6 16.a4 Be6 17.a5 Nf5 18.Ne5 Kg7 19.Re2 Re7 20.axb6 Qxb6 21.Nc5 a5 22.Nb3 a4 23.Na5 Bxe5 24.Rxe5 Qc7 25.Ree1 Nh4 26.Qxa4 Qf4 27.Re3 Rae8 28. Rae1

( 31...Nf3+ 32.gxf3 Qxf1# )

Things were even tighter after Round 4, as Grammar won 4-0 while the two leaders battled out a thrilling 2-2 draw; James Morris should have beaten Kelvin Finke on Board 1 to give Essex Heights 3-1, but Kelvin fought manfully and eventually got James in his time pressure… With scores going into the last round Somerset 14, Grammar 12 and Essex 11.5, Grammar needed to win 3-1 or better against Somerset and Essex Heights needed 4-0. Essex reached 3-0; but then Jerome Lugo popped his queen and lost to make it 3-1! But hope for Grammar was short-lived despite a win by Bob Teoh over Brendan Baker on Board 3, as Justin Cheung lost to Kantley Wu on Board 4 and Raymond Song allowed Kelvin Finke to double rooks on the seventh and force a draw by repetition on Board 1. Despite William Xu grinding down Jonas Muller on Board 2 in the last game to finish, the 2.5-1.5 win was not quite enough for Grammar: Somerset won by a point, and Grammar were relegated to third behind Essex on countback.

Secondary Girls Division

North Sydney Girls (NSW) were the favourites in this five team event, and they did not let the home state down. Starting with a bye, they then won their first match 3.5-0.5 against PLC (Victoria), and their second match against Pembroke (SA) by the same score. So they already took a convincing lead into Day 2. When they won their second last match 3-1 against Belconnen (ACT), they only needed a point in the last round against Brisbane State (Queensland) to wrap it up. But of course they were not content with this, winning again 3-1 to match Curtin's winning primary girls score. They nearly put Brisbane's second place in jeopardy, too, with this last round thrashing; fortunately for the Queenslanders PLC dropped half a point in the last round, enabling Brisbane State to come equal second with them and win second place on countback.

Heather Huddleston was her usual rock solid self on Board 1, winning her first three games and then acquiescing to a last round draw (through boredom or exhaustion?) to reach 3.5/4. Declining a draw and losing against Belconnen, Deborah Ng nevertheless won all her remaining games to score 3/4 on Board 2. Heather was matched by Shan Shan Qiao (3.5/4) on Board 3; while Board 4 was shared between Amy Cao and Stephanie Leung (both 1.5/2). Hence the outstanding winning score of 13/16. Brisbane State and PLC both scored 8 points, while Belconnen and Pembroke both got 5.5.

There follows Heather Huddleston's first up win over Sally-Anne Richter (PLC):

Huddleston, Heather    --    Richter, Sally-Anne
ASTC   Sydney
????     1-0     E61q

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.h3 Nbd7 7.e3 c5 8. Be2 b6 9.O-O Bb7 10.Rc1 d5 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.Ne5 Rc8 13.b4 Ne6 14.Bf3 Nxf4 15.exf4 e6 16.cxd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Rxc1 18.Qxc1 Bxd5 19.Rd1 Qa8 20.Bxd5 exd5 21.Nc6 Bf6 22.Rxd5 Rc8 23.Rd6 Kg7 24.b5 a6

( 25...Kxf6 26.Qc3+ Ke6 27.Qe5+ Kd7 28.Qe7# )

( 29...Qxb8? 30.Nd7+!! Rxd7 31.Qh8+ )

Secondary Open Division

This event had previously only ever been won by NSW or Queensland; but boy, were they in for a shock this time! It all began when St. Peter's (SA) defeated Knox (NSW) 3-1 in the first round; while the Queensland school (Somerset) also lost 3-1 (to Applecross from WA). With Radford (ACT) winning 2.5-1.5 win over Melbourne High (Victoria), NSW and Queensland were already trailing. In Round 2 Somerset inflicted another 3-1 loss on Knox, while St. Peter's beat Melbourne High 3-1 and Radford were 2.5-1.5 winners against Applecross. Then in the third round Knox held Applecross to 2-2, while Somerset beat Melbourne High 3-1 and Radford put paid to St. Peter's 2.5-1.5. Progress scores going in to Day 2 were Radford and St. Peter's 7.5, Somerset 7 and Applecross 6.5. A thrilling final day was in prospect…

Round 4 saw a 3-1 win by Knox over Melbourne High; but the main event was a race between St. Peter's and Radford, as the former beat Applecross 3-1 to take a half point lead over the latter (2.5-1.5 winners over Somerset) going into the last round. Knox then put Radford out of the picture by inflicting their only defeat (2.5-1.5) upon them in the last round, with James Cronan winning the last game to finish (a thrilling rook ending) against Gareth Oliver. So St. Peter's won it overall after beating Somerset 3-1, while Radford got second and Applecross (2.5-1.5 winners over Melbourne High) came third.

Good to see two females playing in the Open event. Their individual game was a wild affair:

Oliver, Tamzin    --    Kinder, Jessica
ASTC   Sydney
????     1/2-1/2     B23m

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Bc4 a6 5.a4 g6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O Bg7 8. d3 e6 9.Bg5 Nge7 10.Qd2 h6 11.Bf4 g5 12.Bg3 O-O 13.h4 f6 14.hxg5 fxg5 15. Rab1 b6 16.Ne2 Ng6 17.Kh2 Nce5 18.Nxe5 Nxe5 19.Rh1 h5 20.Kg1 h4 21.Bxe5 Bxe5 22.Nc3 Bd4 23.Rf1 g4 24.Qh6 Rxf2 1/2-1/2

One of the nice things about this year's Australian Schools Championships was that the four events were won by four different states: South Australia in the Secondary Open, NSW in the Secondary Girls, Queensland in the Primary Open and the ACT in the Primary Girls. It was also good to see Western Australia (third in the Secondary Open) among the placegetters for the first time. Congratulations to all the winners. And of course well done to the NSWJCL for putting on such a great event. All in all, a success that Canberra will find hard to top next year…

Bids invited for 2007 Australian Open Championships

The Australian Chess Federation (ACF) at its 06 January Council meeting decided to call for fresh bids for the Australian Open Championships, in accordance with the ACF's procedures for allocating ACF tournaments.

These rules are viewable at http://www.auschess.org.au/constitution/Proc_for_Allocatg_ACF_Tourns.txt. Potential bidders are advised to refer to these rules and the general by-law for Australian championship events at http://www.auschess.org.au/constitution/By-laws_for_ACF_Tournaments.txt, which also applies to the events concerned. In addition, there are by-laws that apply to the Australian Open Championships ( http://www.auschess.org.au/constitution/By-laws_for_ACF_Tournaments.txt ref clause 7) comprising: Australian Open Championship, Australian Open Rapid-play Championship, Australian Open Lightning Championship, and incorporating the Australian Women’s Open Championships ( http://www.auschess.org.au/constitution/By-law2.txt)

The deadline for submission of the bids is cob 21 February 2006. Pls send your bid for the Australian Open Championships by email to jeydh4@hotmail.com.

Bids from persons other than State Associations should be made through, and with the consent of, the relevant State Association. Your State Association representative will have a copy of the application form that will need to be used when submitting a bid.

If you have any queries, please contact the ACF President, Denis Jessop on (02) 6288 1935 or mobile 0418 278324

- Jey Hoole
ACF Secretary

Olympiad selections:

37th FIDE Chess Olympiads., Torino, Italy, May 20 - June 4 2006.

Applications are now open for the Australian Open and Women's Olympiad Teams for the 37th Chess Olympiad to be held in Torino, Italy, from May 20th - June 4th 2006. (Event website: http://www.chessolympiad-torino2006.org/eng/index.php )

Those wishing to be considered for selection as official playing representatives must apply, in writing or by email, as per the ACF Procedures By-Laws, by 22 January 2006. Please refer to item 5 of the ACF Selection By-Laws before applying and for details of material required in an application. The full Selection By-Laws are available at http://www.auschess.org.au/constitution/Selection_Procedures_By-law.txt, except as recently amended (see below).

An Open team (consisting of six players and a non-playing captain) and a Womens team (consisting of four players and a non-playing captain) will be selected to represent Australia at this event. Players and captains will receive accommodation from the host organisation and travel subsidies from the ACF's Olympiad Appeal fundraising efforts.

Please send all applications by email to Dr Kevin Bonham < k_bonham@tassie.net.au> If an emailed application has not been acknowledged within seven days, please phone (03) 6224 8487 or 0421 428 775. Please note that I am only responsible for coordinating the selection process and not for any other queries concerning the Olympiad.

Applicants' supporting statements and results summaries, and ratings and results information made available to the selectors will be published on the ACF website at an address to be announced, and available for public scrutiny. Any corrections or amendments to this material must be made by 5 Feb 2006. Selection results will be finalised and made public shortly after selections are finalised on 19 Feb 2006. Selection of team captains is expected to commence immediately thereafter. Team captains will then be selected by the ACF Council after determining the preferences of the team members. Team captains will then be announced as soon as Council has made its decision. Exact dates for captaincy applications will be announced closer to this stage.

Important note regarding player activity: All potential applicants are strongly advised that Olympiad selectors are sometimes reluctant to select candidates whose recent results provide too little evidence to be confident of sufficient current playing strength. Potential applicants are strongly advised to compete in upcoming ACF or FIDE rated tournaments and demonstrate their current playing strength to the selectors. See new bylaw 7.1.1.

Summary of dates
22 Dec Applications Open
22 Jan Applications Close
5 Feb Deadline for Corrections / Material to Selectors
19 Feb Deadline for Selectors' Votes - results advised ASAP to all applicants and published in next available newsletter.

Recent selection bylaw changes

The following changes to the selection procedures bylaw have just been passed by the ACF Council. Item 1 (new by-law 4.3) does not apply for this Olympiad:

1. By-law 4 (Selection Criteria) is amended by adding the following paragraphs -

4.3.1 In the case of the Olympiad teams, an applicant shall not be eligible for selection unless the applicant has played at least 20 ACF or FIDE rated games in the period of 12 months immediately preceding the date on which applications for selection close.

4.3.2 For the purposes of paragraph 4.3.1 ­

4.3.2.1 a game that is rated by the ACF and by FIDE shall be counted once only; and

4.3.2.2 a rapid play game shall not be counted.

4.3.3 Paragraph 4.3.1 takes effect from and including the selection process for the Olympiad 2008.

2. By-law 6 (Selection) is amended by adding the following paragraphs -

6.5.1 An application for selection by a person, who, at the date on which applications for selection closed, appears to be ineligible for selection either by reason of ACF by-laws, other than paragraph 4.3.1, or FIDE requirements ("an ineligible person"), shall nevertheless be given to the selectors under this by-law unless, in the opinion of the Selection Coordinator there is no possibility of the applicant being eligible for selection by 21 days before he or she would have to leave Australia to compete in the event for which the selection was made.

6.5.2. An ineligible person who is selected under the subsequent provisions of this by-law must become eligible by 21 days before the person is to leave Australia to compete in the event for which the selection was made.

3. By-law 7 (Voting) is amended by adding the following paragraph ­

7.1.1 For the avoidance of doubt, a relevant consideration in determining an applicant¹s playing strength, is the applicant¹s activity as a player preceding the close of applications for selection, in the case of the Olympiad, since the conclusion of the previous Olympiad, and, in any other case, in the previous 2 years.

4. By-law 9 (Appeals) is amended -

a. by substituting the amount "$200" for the amount "$50" in paragraph 9.2; and

b. by adding the following paragraph 9.3.1

9.3.1.1. Paragraph 9.3.1 does not apply to an alleged material error or omission relating to the eligibility of an applicant for selection, other than the eligibility requirement in paragraph 4.3.1.

- Kevin Bonham
ACF Olympiad Selections Co-Ordinator.

Corus, Wijk Aan Zee: One of the strongest events of the year. Kramnik has pulled out, complaining of joint pains. Scores after 4 rounds: 1. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2792 3.0; 2. Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2801 3.0; 3. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2723 2.5; 4. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2729 2.5; 5. Adams, Michael g ENG 2707 2.0; 6. Leko, Peter g HUN 2740 2.0; 7. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2752 2.0; 8. Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2660 2.0; 9. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2709 2.0; 10. Sokolov, Ivan g NED 2689 1.5; 11. Tiviakov, Sergei g NED 2669 1.5; 12. Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2717 1.5; 13. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2647 1.5; 14. Kamsky, Gata g USA 2686 1.0.

Group B: 1. Naiditsch, Arkadij g GER 2657 3.5; 2. Vescovi, Giovanni g BRA 2633 3.0; 3. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2625 3.0; 4. Navara, David g CZE 2660 3.0; 5. Motylev, Alexander g RUS 2638 2.5; 6. Koneru, Humpy g IND 2537 2.5; 7. Almasi, Zoltan g HUN 2646 2.5; 8. Jobava, Baadur g GEO 2614 2.0; 9. Beliavsky, Alexander G g SLO 2626 1.5; 10. L'Ami, Erwin m NED 2550 1.5; 11. Cheparinov, Ivan g BUL 2625 1.5; 12. Stellwagen, Daniel g NED 2573 0.5; 13. Lahno, Kateryna m UKR 2500 0.5; 14. Smeets, Jan g NED 2550 0.5.

Group C: 1. Atalik, Suat g TUR 2618 3.5; 2. Werle, Jan m NED 2514 2.5; 3. Adly, Ahmed g EGY 2473 2.5; 4. Marcelin, Cyril g FRA 2441 2.5; 5. Van der Wiel, John g NED 2505 2.5; 6. Jonkman, Harmen g NED 2470 2.5; 7. Bischoff, Klaus g GER 2560 2.0; 8. Van der Weide, Karel g NED 2466 2.0; 9. Hopman, Pieter NED 2332 2.0; 10. Li Shilong g CHN 2543 2.0; 11. Visser, Yge m NED 2485 1.5; 12. Bensdorp, Marlies wm NED 2230 1.5; 13. Afek, Yochanan m ISR 2370 0.5; 14. Atalik, Ekaterina wg TUR 2399 0.5.

Official Site : View games A : View games B : View games C

The Association of Chess Professionals has held elections. The ACP's new President is GM Pavel Tregubov, Secretary is GM Bartlomiej Macieja and and Treasurer is WGM Almira Skripchenko.

Games

The Corus supertournament in Wijk aan Zee in Holland is under way, and as expected it has produced some great chess. The annotations are rough and ready - please take them as suggestive rather than authoritative.

Karjakin, Sergey (2660)    --    Anand, V (2792)
Corus A  (1)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.14     0-1     B90

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Be7 9.Qd2 O-O 10.O-O-O Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 b4 13.Ne2 Ne8 14.f4 a5 15.f5 a4 16.Nbd4 exd4 17.Nxd4 b3 18.Kb1 bxc2+ 19.Nxc2 Bb3 20.axb3 axb3 21.Na3 Ne5 22.h4 Ra5 23.Qc3 Qa8 24.Bg2

Nc7!! 25.Qxc7 Rc8!! 26.Qxe7 Nc4!! 27.g6 hxg6 28.fxg6 Nxa3+ 29.bxa3 Rxa3 30.gxf7+ Kh7

31.f8=N+ Rxf8 32.Qxf8

( 32.Bd4 Ra1+!! 33.Bxa1 Qa2+ 34.Kc1 Qc2# )

A fantastic win for Anand

Adams, Mi (2707)    --    Topalov, V (2801)
Corus A  (2)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.15     1-0     B85

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.O-O Be7 8. a4 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.f4 Qc7 11.Kh1 Re8 12.Bf3 Bf8 13.Qd2 Na5 14.b3 Rb8 15. Rad1 Nc6 16.Bf2 Nd7 17.Bg3 Nxd4 18.Qxd4 b5 19.axb5 axb5 20.b4!?

Fixing b5 but weakening c4

20...g6 21.e5 d5

22.f5!!

The start of an excellent combinative attack

( 23...exd5? 24.e6 Qc4 25.exd7 Qxd4 26.Rxd4 Bxd7 27.Bxb8 +- )

( 24...exd5 25.Qg5+ Kh8 26.Bxd5 Qxb4 27.Bxf7 Be7 28.Qh5 Rd8 29.Rxd7 Bxd7 30.Bg6 for example, illustrates white's attacking possibilities )

25.h3!! exd5 26.Bxd5 Qxb4 27.c3 Qc5 28.Rxf5 Re6

29.Rxf7!! Nb6

( 29...Kxf7 30.Qf4+ Ke7 31.Bh4+ Ke8 32.Bxe6 Nxe5 33.Rd8# )

A magnificent win, and a great confidence-booster for Adams

Gelfand, B (2723)    --    Adams, Mi (2707)
Corus A  (3)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.16     1-0     E09

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O c6 8. Bf4 Nbd7 9.Qc2 Nh5 10.Bc1 Nhf6 11.Nbd2 b6 12.e4 dxc4 13.Nxc4 Bb7 14.Bf4 c5 15.Rfe1 cxd4 16.Nd6!? d3!? 17.Qxd3 Nc5 18.Qd4 Nh5 19.Nxb7 Nxb7 20.Bd2 Nf6 21.Rad1 Qe8 22.e5 Nd5 23.Ng5 h6 24.Bxd5 exd5 25.Qxd5! Bxg5 26.Bxg5 Nc5 27. Be3 Ne6 28.Qe4 Qb5 29.b3 Rad8 30.Rd6! Rfe8 31.Red1 Qe2 32.R1d2 Qe1+ 33.Kg2 Rc8 34.Qg4 Rc1 35.Rd1 Rxd1 36.Rxd1 Qa5 37.Bxh6! Qxa2 38.Rd6!

Threatening Rxe6! and Qg7 mate

38...Re7

39.Bxg7!!

( 39.Bxg7!! Nxg7 40.Rd8+ Kh7 41.Qh4+ Kg6 42.Qxe7 and mate follows soon )

Ivanchuk, V (2729)    --    Anand, V (2792)
Corus A  (3)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.16     0-1     A34

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e5!? 5.Be2 d5 6.d4!? exd4 7.exd4 Be6 8.Be3 dxc4 9.Qa4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Bd7 11.Qxc4 Rc8 12.O-O Bd6 13.Nxc6 Rxc6 14.Qh4 O-O!? 15.Bxa7

dodgy

( 24.Rf1 is quite passive and gives black a winning attack after 24...Qd7 threatening Ra8 25.Bxb6 Qh3 26.f3 Bc5+ ( but not 26...Rxg3+!! 27.hxg3 Qxg3+ 28.Kh1 Bd6 29.Rf2 ) )

24...Bxe1 25.Bxd5 Qe7 26.a4 Rf6 27.f4 Qe3+ 28.Kh1 Bxg3!!

( 28...Bxg3 29.hxg3 Qxg3 and ...Rh6 will mate )

Karjakin, Sergey (2660)    --    Kamsky, G (2686)
Corus A  (3)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.16     1-0     B42

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.O-O d6 7.c4 g6 8. Nc3 Bg7 9.Be3 O-O 10.Rc1 Nbd7 11.Qd2 Qc7 12.f3 b6 13.Rfd1 Bb7 14.Bf1 Rfc8 15.b4 Bf8 16.a3 Rab8 17.Kh1 Qd8 18.Qf2 Ne5 19.Na4 Nfd7 20.Nb3 Ba8 21.Nb2 Rc7 22.Na4 Rcc8 23.Bd4 Rc6 24.c5!?

The critical move

( 25...dxc5 26.Bxe5 )

( 32...Rd8 33.Rc7 Ba8 34.Kg1 a5 35.Ra7 Bc6 36.Rxa5 )

Van Wely, L (2647)    --    Topalov, V (2801)
Corus A  (4)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.17     0-1     D15

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.a4 e6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 dxc4 8.e3 b5 9.axb5 cxb5 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.Rxa8 Bb4+ 13.Ke2 Bb7 14.Ra1

Naiditsch, A (2657)    --    Stellwagen, D (2573)
Corus B  (1)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.14     1-0     C12

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.e5 h6 6.Be3 Ne4 7.Qg4 g6

( 7...Nxc3 8.Bd2 )

Not just to develop the bishop, but to give the black king an escape route after white's Bxg6!? etc

( 14...Rf8 15.Bxf4 Bxd3 16.cxd3 Nd7 17.Bxh6 Qe7 18.Bg5! f6 19.exf6 Nxf6 20.h6 +- )

( The idea is 28.Rfb1 Ke7 29.a5 Nxa5 30.Rxa5! bxa5 31.Rb7+ )

28...Rc8 29.Ra2 Na5 30.Rf2 Rg8 31.Rc2 Rc8 32.Kh4 Nc6 33.Rcc1 Ke8

34.Bxh6!! Rf7

( 34...Rxh6 35.g5 Rh8 36.g6 Kf8 37.Kg5 Kg7 38.Rh1 Rh6 39. Rbf1 Nd8 40.Rf8!! Rxh5+ 41.Rxh5 Kxf8 42.Kf6 Kg8 43.g7 Nf7 44.Kxe6 +- )

( 35...Rxg7 36.h6 Rh7 37.g5 Kf7 38.Rf1+ Kg8 39.Kh5 Ne7 40. g6 Rh8 41.Rf7 Nf5 42.h7+ Rxh7+ 43.Rxh7 )

Carlsen, M (2625)    --    L'Ami, E (2550)
Corus B  (1)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.14     1-0     C91

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.d4!? Bg4 10.Be3 exd4 11.cxd4 Na5 12.Bc2 c5 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 cxd4 15.Bxd4 Rc8 16.Qd1

( Not 16.Nc3 b4! )

16...Nc6 17.Nc3 b4 18.Ne2 Nxd4 19.Nxd4 g6 20.Qd2 Qb6 21.Rad1 Nd7 22.Bb3! Nc5 23.Bd5! Bf6 24.Nf3 Kg7 25.Nh2! h5 26.g4 Rh8 27.Kg2 hxg4 28.Nxg4 Nd7

29.Bxf7!! Kxf7 30.Qf4!

Threatening Rxd6

( 30...g5 31.Qf5 threatening e5! )

( 32...dxe5 33.Qxe5+ Kf7 34.Rd6 +- )

( 37.Rd8+ Rxd8 38.Qxd8+ Kf7 39.Qe8+ Kf6 40.Qe6+ Kg7 41. Qxh3 Great attacking play )

Smeets, J (2550)    --    Carlsen, M (2625)
Corus B  (2)   Wijk aan Zee NED
2006.01.15     0-1     B33

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 Ne7 13.Ncb4 O-O 14.a4 bxa4 15.Rxa4 a5 16.Nxe7+ Qxe7 17.Bc4 Bd7 18.Nd5 Qe8 19.Ra2 Bd8 20.O-O Rc8 21.Bb3 Rb8 22.Qc2 Kh8 23.Rfa1 f5 24.Ba4 Bxa4 25.Rxa4 fxe4 26.R4a2?!

This seems rather passive

( 30.gxh4 Rxf2 31.Qxe4 Rf1+ )

30...Bd8 31.Rxe4 h5 32.Re2 h4 33.Rb2 g6 34.Kg2 hxg3 35.hxg3

Rxg3+!! 36.Kf1

( 36.fxg3 ( 36.Kxg3 Qf3+ 37.Kh2 Kg7 38.Kg1 Rh8 ) 36...Qf1+ 37.Kh2 Kg7 38.Re4 Rh8+ 39.Rh4 Bxh4 40.gxh4 Rxh4+ 41.Kg3 Rh3+ 42.Kg4 Qf3+ 43.Kg5 Rh5# )

Grand Prix tournaments:

Full details at the 2006 Grand Prix site

Australia Day Weekender; Melbourne; January 21-22; http://home.vicnet.net.au/~chessmel/

Aussie Weekender; Launceston; Jan 28-29;

Australia Day Weekender; Sydney; Jan 28-29; http://www.nswca.org.au/

Other events:

Gold Coast Tin Cup 2006 for players rated under 1750. Organised by Outreach Chess/Gold Coast Chess Club. February 18-19 at Somerset Sports Pavilion (300 metres West of Somerset College), Somerset Dr, Mudgeeraba. Organiser: Peter Bender 07 5556 0434. Entry forms available from email: outreachchess@bigpond.com

Hakoah Club events, 61 Hall Street Bondi, NSW
January 30th - Lightning Tournament. Entry fee - $10.00 5 min. each on the clock. Starts 7.30 pm
February 6th - Henry Greenfield Cup - 2006 starts. This 9 round Swiss event will be held on consecutive Monday evenings. Starts 7.30 p.m. Enquiries: To Vladimir Feldman 0414798503 or visit Hakoah Chess Club web page: http://hakoahchessclub.freeservers.com

International events:

The International Chess Festival "M. Sadoveanu" 20th Edition, Jassy 20 - 26.08.2005; home.dntis.ro ; Manole Vasile: phone nr. 0040740/277850 ; Fax: 0040232/204454. e-mail: iasitel@yahoo.com . Ungureanu Vlad: phone nr. 0040741/665384 e-mail: iasitel@yahoo.com

Penang International Open: Website

Czech Tour - International Chess Festivals Series - http://www.czechtour.net

6th Bangkok Chess Club Open: April 11-16; Century Park Hotel; www.bangkokchess.com; Email: Kai Tuorila

Singapore Masters: For more details, click here.

4th Parsvnath International Open: New Delhi, 14-23 January 2006; Enter by 1 January. Email: delhichess64@yahoo.com, Web site: www.delhichess.com

Correspondence chess players over the board: July 1-9; Karviná, Silesian University, Czech Republic; Preliminary applications to: Ing. Petr BUCHNÍCEK, Svážná 22, CZ-634 00 Brno, Czech Republic. Phone: 605 578 666. Email: buchnicek@skscr.cz

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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