ACF NEWS

OLYMPIAD APPEAL

At its last meeting, the ACF gratefully accepted Ian Murray's offer to serve as coordinator of the 2008 Olympiad appeal. A website, through which donations can me made, has already been set up at www.caq.org.au/olympiad/index.htm.

ACF MEDALS AWARDED

from Gary Wastell, ACF Medals Coordinator

The following winners of ACF achievement and service medals were announced during the prizegiving ceremony following the 2008 Australian Championship in Parramatta.

• Steiner Medal for Player of the Year 2007: Zong-Yuan Zhao
• Koshnitsky medal for Chess Administration: Denis Jessop

The following are extracts from citations in respect of the successful nominees.

Zong-Yuan Zhao

(At the time the awards were being announced, IM Zhao was in the final stages of completing the requirements for the Grandmaster title.)

The NSW Chess Association Inc. hereby nominates Zong-Yuan Zhao as a worthy recipient of the Steiner Medal for 2007.

Zong is the current Australian Open Champion having won the title in Canberra earlier this year with a 2600+ performance but unfortunately did not meet the other requirements for a GM norm. He is placed second on the rating lists of the ACF and FIDE with ratings of 2560 and 2491 respectively. Currently he is playing overseas and this month earned his first grandmaster norm with a score of 7/9 with a rating performance of 2600+ in the December First Saturday tournament in Budapest, finishing equal first with GM Zlatko Ilincic.

Denis Jessop

Denis Jessop’s earliest involvement in chess administration at a national or state level began when, as a member of the St Kilda Chess Club in Melbourne in the 1960s, he agreed to serve as Secretary of the Victorian Chess Association.

After following a career path leading to a position in the Attorney-General’s Department in Canberra, he began a prolonged period of service to chess in the Australian Capital Territory, serving from time to time in a variety of capacities at club and state level, including work with the committee that has overseen the growth of the annual Doeberl Cup into the most significant tournament of its kind in Australia.

Subsequently, his contributions came to include service as the Territory’s delegate on the Sydney-based ACF Council, ACTCA representative at National Conferences in various states and as ACTCA President.

Because of his legal training and on-going interest in chess, Denis was ideally placed to become the Australian Chess Federation’s first Public Officer, a post the Federation was obliged to fill when, in 1985, it was agreed that the Federation should become incorporated. To this day, Denis remains the Federation’s first and only Public Officer.

In recent years, Denis has been a key member of the ACF’s constitutional committee, providing advice on a variety of rules-related issues from the suitability of by-law amendments to the outcome of appeals by players against decisions of selectors.

A great deal of the credit for the things the Federation has achieved in this area (not to mention the disasters that have been averted) can be attributed to the part Denis has played as a leading member of that committee and as a result of his careful and knowledgeable input into related matters as a member of the ACF Council.

This work, which often sees little recognition because of its sometimes less-than-fascinating nature, requires care, diligence, accuracy and integrity on the part of those performing it, as well as first-hand practical experience of the kind Denis has been able to call upon.

In 2004 Denis declined to seek re-election to his then-held position of President of the ACTCA in order to preserve the independence of his next administrative post, that of President of the ACF – to which he was unanimously elected at the ACF National Conference in Mt Buller.

More recently, Denis has broadened the range of his services to Australian chess by serving at various times as overseer of activities for juniors, as editor of the ACF’s email newsletter, as a selector for the annual Player of the Year medal and in numerous other capacities as needs arise – all of which add to the suitability of his choice as recipient of the 2008 Koshnitsky medal for chess administration.

NOMINATIONS INVITED FOR WHYATT MEDAL

from Gary Wastell, ACF Medals Coordinator

The ACF invites nominations for possible recipients of the second Whyatt medal for achievement in the field of chess problem composition. The medal is to be awarded in keeping with the following extracts from related ACF rules and resolutions.

The Whyatt medal, first presented in 2003, is to be awarded every five years for outstanding success as a chess problem composer, taking into account the composer's published problems. It may not be won more than once by the same person.

Selectors will not be asked to undertake the difficult, time-consuming and error-prone task of judging particular problems as if they were freshly submitted to them, but instead to rely on the work already done by competition judges, perhaps taking into account also the comments of editors and solvers.

The setting out of achievements should include a listing of published problems and of any awards received in competitions, giving full publication details and a reproduction from the publication itself. Published commentary on the problems may be attached, including the comments of competition judges and, if desired, also of editors and solvers. No limit is placed on the number of problems that may be listed.

The winner will be asked to prepare a short note dealing with at least one of the problems that resulted in the award. This note should be aimed at explaining to the general chess-playing public in simple language (defining technical terms when needed) some of the ideas involved in the problem(s). Attention may be drawn to intellectual, artistic and other features. A way should be indicated by which readers can follow up any further interest they might then have in problems as a result of their having read this note.

Joint winners of the first Whyatt medal were Denis Saunders and Peter Wong.

A separate document or message containing the following should be provided in respect of each nominee:

• name in full (correctly spelt);
• contact details (phone, email, postal address);
• description or list of relevant achievements suitable for reading at the time of presentation;
• anything else relevant to the nomination.

Nominations may be forwarded as follows:
    email: gwastell@netspace.net.au
    post: 22 Bruarong Crescent, Frankston South, Vic 3199
    fax: (03) 9525 9632

A person submitting a nomination should retain a complete copy of every document submitted as part of the nomination and must phone 0409 525 963 to confirm that it has been received if delivery has not been acknowledged 24 hours after expected delivery time.

The deadline for nominations is 30 June 2008.

Gary Wastell
ACF Medals Coordinator

JUNIOR EMAIL LIST

from Jenni Oliver

An e-mail list is planned for 2008. It is for juniors, coaches, parents and interested people. It is envisaged that it will be used for distributing information on events such as overseas selections, Ergas selections, etc. Initially it will also be used as a discussion mechanism for concepts such as the need for a national body to deal with junior affairs (AusJCL). Can interested people please send their e-mail address to jenni@stratagemcc.com.au

APPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR EVENTS

from Shannon Oliver, Junior Selection Coordinator

www.australianjuniorchess.org.au

Applications for international junior events closed on the 9^th. Please check the website to see that your name is listed. If it isn't, email me and let me know.

Shannon Oliver
Junior Selection Coordinator
shan_o_86@hotmail.com

2008 OLYMPIAD SELECTIONS

chesschat.org/showthread.php?t=7026

ACF SELECTIONS EMAIL LIST

chesschat.org/showthread.php?t=5913

MYER TAN AUSTRALIAN CHESS GRAND PRIX

http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/index.cfm?site=grandprix

Coming Grand Prix Events

EVENTS CALENDAR

Doeberl Cup

Venue Hellenic Club of Canberra, Matilda Street, Woden, ACT, 2606.
Format Premier Tournament 9 round Swiss. Major, Minor and Senior Tournaments 7 round Swiss. Under 1200 Tournament 6 round Swiss.
Entry fee Premier $140 (Free to GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs). Major, Minor & Senior $120 (U/18 $80). Under 1200 $60.
Prizes Premier $4000, $2500, $1500, $800, $500, $400, $350, $300, $250, $200. Major $1,500, $800, $450, $250, $150, $100. Minor $750, $400, $250, $150, $100 & Unr $100. Senior $450, $300, $150, $100.
Registration By midday, 19/3/08.
Session times Premier Thursday 1.00pm, 7.00pm; Friday 1.00pm, 7.00pm; Saturday 10.00am, 3.00pm; Sunday 10.00am, 3.00pm; Monday 9.00am. Major, Minor & Senior Friday 1.00pm, 7.00pm; Saturday 10.00am, 3.00pm; Sunday 10.00am, 3.00pm; Monday 9.00am. Under 1200 Friday 1.00pm, 4.00pm, 7.00pm, Saturday 10.00am, 1.00pm, 4.00pm.
Rate of play Premier, Major, Minor & Senior 90 mins + 30 secs. Under 1200 60 mins + 10 secs.
Enquiries info@doeberlcup.com.au
Webpage http://www.doeberlcup.com.au

Sydney International Open

http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/open/index.cfm

1^st Mumbai International Open

Venue Goregaon Sports Club, New Link Road, Malad, Mumbai.
Format 11 Round FIDE Swiss.
Entry fee Free to GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. Entry fees depending of rating.
Prizes for 1^st to 30^th, Rs. 2,75,000/-, Rs. 1,70,000, Rs. 100,000, etc. and rating prizes. Total cash prizes 11,00,000/-.
Registration by 25/3/08. Late fee of Rs. 500/- by 2/5/08 or Rs. 1000/- by 20:00 8/5/08.
Enquiries venuschessacademy@gmail.com or venuschess@gmail.com
Flyer PDF

OVERSEAS NEWS

MORELIA-LINARES 2008

Official website (in Spanish).

The Morelia-Linares tournament took place from February 15^th to 23^rd February in Morelia, Mexico, and from 28^th February to 7^th March in Linares, Spain.

Final Standings:
1. V. Anand (IND) 8.5/14;
2. M. Carlsen (NOR) 8;
3-4. V. Topalov (BUL), L. Aronian (ARM) 7.5;
5. T. Radjabov (AZE) 7;
6. V. Ivanchuk (UKR) 6.5;
7-8. A. Shirov (SPA), P. Leko (HUN) 5.5.

TAILPIECE