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ACF NEWS

ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE ACF EXECUTIVE at the 2009 Annual Conference held on 6 January 2009
from Tom Accola, ACF Secretary

  President: Gary Wastell
  Deputy President: Bill Gletsos
  Vice-President: Denis Jessop
  Vice-President: Kevin Bonham
  Secretary: Tom Accola
  Treasurer: Norman Greenwood

BANNED PLAYER EDWARD NAOUMOV
from Tom Accola, ACF Secretary

The Council of the ACF has resolved as follows:
  "That in light of the seriousness of the offence of using computer assistance to cheat during the Australian Open event that Edward Naoumov be banned for a period of 2 years commencing on 1 February 2009 from participation in any ACF, Affiliated State Associations and Associated Bodies events or activities."

ACF MEDAL RECIPIENTS AT THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE
from Tom Accola, ACF Secretary

Steiner Medal for Australian Player of the Year 2008 - Zong-Yuan Zhao
CJS Purdy Medal for journalism - Amiel Rosario
Koshnitsky Medal for Chess Administration - Dr Charles Zworestine

FIDE OCEANIA ZONAL ACF SELECTIONS 2009
from Kevin Bonham, ACF Selections Director

Applications are open to represent Australia at the upcoming FIDE Oceania Zonal Chess Tournaments for Men and Women at the Outrigger Twin Towns Resort, Tweed Heads, June 20-26 2009. The event website is at www.gardinerchess.com/oceaniazonal/oceaniazonal2009.htm; for all queries about the event contact the organiser via details given at the "contact" link on the site.

Australia is entitled to two representatives in the Open tournament and two in the Womens tournament. Each successful applicant is entitled to free twin share accommodation at the venue IN 19/6/09 OUT 26/6/09. No pocket money or expenses will be paid.

Applicants for selection as Australian representatives must email the Selections Director, Kevin Bonham, at k_bonham@tassie.net.au by 28 March, advising that they wish to apply. Players who have not applied to represent Australia in an adult event before must supply the following details:

  5.4.1 Full Name
  5.4.2 Address
  5.4.3 Email address
  5.4.4 Fax (if applicable)
  5.4.5 Phone number
  5.4.6 Nationality
  5.4.7 Date of Birth
  5.4.8 FIDE Rating
  5.4.9 ACF Rating
  5.4.10 FIDE Titles held
  5.4.11 Current ACF Titles held

Players who have applied before do not need to supply these details but must ensure that they advise of any recent change of details, especially of address, email address and phone number.

If an application is not acknowledged within seven days, please call 0421 428 775. Applicants are required to retain a copy of their email applying for selection. Claims for late application on the grounds of email delivery problems will not be accepted unless accompanied by a copy of the original email and a letter from the applicant's ISP confirming that the email was sent before the deadline.

It is envisaged that the quick selections process (average of ACF and FIDE ratings) will be used for this selection. Therefore there is no need, unless advised otherwise, to send supporting statements or lists of results.

INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR SELECTIONS
from Shannon Oliver, Junior Selections Coordinator

Applications are now open for the various international tournaments.

The website is www.australianjuniorchess.org.au/

Tournaments for which you can apply are:
  World Youth Age Championships (U8-U18)
  Asean Youth Championships (U8-18)
  Asian Youth Age Championships (U8-U18)
  World Junior Championships (U20)
  Asian Junior Championship (U20)
  Commonwealth Championships (U8-U20)

All of these have both an open and a girls division. Tthe World U16 Olympiad which is an open teams tournament.

The dates for these event are:

June 10-19
ASEAN Age Group Championships (Note: Australian players are usually allowed to compete in ASEAN Championships)
Vietnam

October 16-29
World Junior (U/20)
Argentina

TBA
World Youth Olympiad (U/16)
Turkey

November 11-23
World Youth Championships (U/8-U/18)
Turkey

May 20-28
Asian Junior Championships (U20)
Sri Lanka

July 19-27
Commonwealth Championships (U8-U20)
Malaysia

The dates for the Asian Youth and and Youth Olympiad have not been released, however if you are interested in going to either of these tournaments, you must apply now (acceptance of these selections will be deferred until after the dates are announced).

Selections will close on the 22 March 2009

Email me if you have any queries/problems with the site. If you wish to see the selection procedure by-law please go to www.auschess.org.au/constitution/Selection_Procedures_By-law.txt, or request a copy from me.

OPPORTUNITY FOR IN-KIND SPONSORSHIP: AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR 2010, HOBART
from Kevin Bonham, Director of Play, Australian Junior, 2010.

The Tasmanian Chess Association will host the Australian Junior 2010 in Hobart on behalf of the Australian Junior Chess League. The venue is The Hutchins School, Hobart and the expected dates of play are January 13-24, 2010.

On account of a relative shortage of chess equipment in the state, the TCA is seeking expressions of interest from chess retailers and businesses who would be willing to loan several dozen good quality electronic clocks (not necessarily new), including covering transport costs for these, and also cover any shortage of boards and sets that may arise.

The successful applicant will be granted exclusive and free bookstall rights for the tournament and will have their logo prominently displayed on the event website for several months leading up to the tournament.

We are also seeking expressions of interest in sponsoring the production of scoresheets for the event, either separately or in combination with the above.

Expressions of interest should be sent to Kevin Bonham at k_bonham@tassie.net.au by COB April 30 2009. All expressions of interest will be acknowledged. If an expression of interest has not been acknowledged within seven days please call 0421 428 775.

Milan Ninchich has kindly supplied this item of Cairns junior chess news.

2009 YULGILBAR-THINK BIG AUSTRALIAN CHESS GRAND PRIX

47 events are currently on the 2009 calendar. See them all, here.

Coming Grand Prix Events

EVENTS CALENDAR

Dubbo RSL Open

A Yulgilbar – Think Big Grand Prix Class 1 Event
Venue Dubbo RSL Club, corner Brisbane and Wingewarra Streets, Dubbo, NSW.
Format 6-Round Swiss, 60 minutes + 10 seconds.
Entry fee Adults $40, Concession $35, Juniors $20. Cheques payable to Dubbo RSL Chess Club.
Prizes $350 first prize guaranteed. Divisional and Junior prizes subject to number of entries
Registration Saturday 10:00am – 10:30am.
Enquiries to Alexander Aich email, phone (02) 6884 4561, or Trevor Bemrose email, phone (02) 6884 4096.

2009 Doeberl Cup

A Yulgilbar – Think Big Grand Prix Class 5 Event
Venue The Hellenic Club of Canberra, Matilda Street, Woden ACT 2606.
Format Premier (9-13 April, 9-Round Swiss, 90 minutes + 30 seconds), Major, Minor, 50+ (10-13 April, 7-round Swisses, 90+30), Under 1200 (10-11 April, 6-Round Swiss, 20+10) & Chess 960 (11 April, 5+0).
Entry fee free to GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs. Premier $140. Major & Minor $120, U/18 $80. 50+ $80. Under 1200 $60.
Prizes Premier $4000, $2500, $1500, $800, $500, $400, $350, $300. Major $1500, $800, $450, $250, $150, $100. Minor $750, $400, $250, $150, $100. 50+ $450, $300, $150, $100. Under 1200 trophies and gift vouchers.
Close of entries for Premier, Major, Minor, 50+ is 12.00 midday, Wednesday 8 April. Under 1200 entries close 12.00 midday, Friday, 10 April. All player sign-ins close 12.00 midday on first day of play.
Enquiries to Charles Bishop, info@doeberlcup.com.au.
Website here.

2009 Sydney International Open Chess Tournament

Venue Parramatta Town Hall, Church Street, Parramatta, NSW, 2150.
Format Open & Challengers (restricted to players rated below 2000) events. 9-Round FIDE-rated Swisses. 90 minutes + 30 seconds per move.
Entry fee free to GMs, IMs, WGMs and WIMs and players rated over 2500. Open 2400-2499 $100, 2300-2399 $125, 2200-2299 $150, 1600-2199 $175, unrated $225. Challengers $90, unrated $100.
Prizes Open $5000, $2500, $1500, $1000, $750, $500, $500, $500, $250, $250, $250, $250, $250 (Best female), $250 (Best under 18), $250 (Best under 12). Challengers $500, $400, $350, $300, $250, $200, $200, $100 (Best female), $100 (Best under 18), $100 (Best under 12).
Close of entries is on Sunday, 12 April. Player registration from 6.30 - 7.45 pm on Tuesday, 14 April.
Enquiries to Brian Jones, phone 61-2-9838-1529, fax 61-2-9838-1614, info@chessaustralia.com.au.
Website here.

Oceania Zonal Chess Tournament for Men and Women

Venue Outrigger Twin Towns Resort
Format Nine round swiss for Men and Women (or a round robin if appropriate). 40 moves in 90 minutes, 30 minutes to finish, plus 30 seconds per move from the start.
DOPs Chief Arbiter: IA Charles Zworestine. Assistant Arbiters: IA Gary Bekker & Graeme Gardiner.
Entry fee dependant on rating. See website.
Prizes Men: $1500, $1000, $750, $500, $400, $250, $150. 1^st under 2000 $300. 1^st under 1800 $300. Women: $750. $500, $300. 1^st under 1800 $300.
Registration by Friday, 6 June, 2009. The organiser may, at his discretion, accept late entries.
Enquiries to Graeme Gardiner, 11 Hardys Road, Mudgeeraba Qld 4213. Phone 5522 7221. Fax 5522 7760. Email ggardiner@gardinerchess.com.
Website here.
As an added attraction, the Gold Coast Open, a cat 5 Yulgilbar-Think Big Grand Prix event, will take place in the same playing venue, Visions Conference Room, Twin Towns Resort, on the weekend immediately after the Zonal 27/28 June 2009.

COMPLETED EVENTS

2009 Australian Junior Chess Championships

from DOP Charles Zworestine

Diary of an Arbiter – 2009 Australian Juniors

Day 0 (1st Jan) – I emerged off the plane in Adelaide the day before the event to the usual chaos of setting up and getting organised – but no matter, having been well fed as usual by Roland Eime and his lovely wife Sheila, I didn’t really mind! I was more disappointed at the drop in numbers compared to recent years: around 100 overall comprised 45 in the Under 18 Open, 29 in the Under 12 Open, 15 in the Under 18 Girls and 10 in the Under 12 Girls. The latter two events were thus forced into a reduced number of rounds: Under 18 Girls a 9 round Swiss, and Under 12 Girls of course a round robin. The older ones (Under 18) played at 90 minutes plus a minute per move from the start (Fischer), while the little ones (Under 12) played at 60 minutes plus a minute per move from the start (Fischer). It remained to be seen whether those little ones would actually use their allotted time; on past evidence, I suspected not...

Day 1 (2nd Jan) – A very nice opening ceremony featured an inspirational speech by one of the sponsors, Aivars Lidums, who pointed to previous Australian Junior Champions who have become GMs... After that we seemed to settle in nicely, with the smaller numbers and nice venue at Saint Ignatius’ College leading to a relaxed atmosphere and everyone seeming to enjoy themselves. The only semi-upset in the Under 12 Girls saw unrated Denise Lim checkmate fourth seed Jana Pretorius; the Under 18 Girls also looked like it would be upset-free, but then Abbie Kanagarajah ground down second seed Tamzin Oliver in a very long endgame for our first real shock. The unrateds caused more chaos in the Under 12 Open, Vineths Ousmand beating twelfth seed Mishael Mithran while Ethan Lim joined his sister as a surprise victor, accounting for tenth seed Stuart Mason. But by far the biggest shock for the locals came in the Under 18 Open, where local favourite and sixth seed Fedja (“Cheeky”) Zulfic was held to a draw by Micah Dalton. Cheeky thought he was winning their opposite coloured bishop ending, and indeed his passed pawn won a piece; a shame, then, when he had too few pawns left for this to count...

Day 2 (3rd Jan) – Many more shocks this round: the event had really begun! In the Under 18 Open, equal top seed Yita Choong was downed by Zachary Searle, who got Yita’s king before Yita could get his! In another shock, Nizami Ousmand beat Jonas Muller in a longish game; while Cheeky drew again, this time lucky to come back from a lost position against Chris Boni. Results in the Under 12 Girls were a bit more predictable; but Denise Lim was very excited in the bulletin room as she showed us her win against Alyona Chizhova, where she recovered from a lost ending pawns down to checkmate her opponent! All results went to rating in the Under 18 Girls; but third seed Sean Gu suffered an accident in the Under 12 Open, moving his rook en prise to lose his endgame against Ethan Derwent after earlier having been pawns ahead!

Day 3 (4th Jan) – Rest day for the Girls, but double round day for the Open events! The Under 12 Open saw the cream seem to come to the top, as top seed Yi Liu played two excellent games to reach 4/4 and the outright lead. But there were 8 players on 3/4, including Sean Gu who had recovered from his little accident... Meanwhile there was excitement on top board in Round 3 of the Under 18 Open, where Cedric Antolis was an upset victor against joint top seed Yi Yuan in a complicated game where Cedric eventually got a passed f-pawn through with the heavy pieces still on the board! After winning two bishops for a rook to beat Gene Nakauchi, Cedric was thus joined in the lead on 4/4 by Andrew Brown, who beat Sebastian Jule then Sam Dalton. In another major shock, local James Griggs beat Yita Choong with a stunning kingside attack.

Day 4 (5th Jan) – Supposedly a real rest day for all players; but no rest for the wicked! Roland and I arbitered the Rapid instead. Gene Nakauchi won with 6/6; a luckless Andrew Brown blew his won position against Gene and shared second with Sam Grigg, Jason Tang and Yi Yuan.

Day 5 (6th Jan) – Again things went to rating in the Under 12 Girls, except for Jana Pretorius beating Joanne Mason (successfully getting at her king). So far 3/3 for top two seeds Caroline Shan and Mirakla Mithran, as well as Denise Lim. Also 3/3 for top seed Sally Yu and third seed Sophie Eustace in the Under 18 Girls. And 5/5 for Yi Liu in the Under 12 Open after beating Martin Jack, with 4 players on 4/5 including Vineths Ousmand, who stunned second seed Ryan Sam in a long game (king and pawn ending then queen ending). Detect a pattern here? Well, it was broken in the Under 18 Open after Andrew Brown hung on for a draw against Cedric Antolis on top board. They shared the lead on 4½/5; but 4 players on 4/5 included Jason Tang, who upset Sam Dalton in a good knight vs bad bishop endgame.

Day 6 (7th Jan) – The novice event began today with 15 players, and finished with Sean Adcock leading on 4/4. No change at the top in the Under 12 Girls; but Sally Yu took the outright lead on 4/4 in the Under 18 Girls by cashing in on a powerful passed d-pawn to defeat Sophie Eustace. Yi Liu still led the Under 12 Open on 5½/6 after today’s round, but was a bit lucky after Daniel Lapitan refuted his unsound exchange sacrifice but could only draw. Still, an upset; and Sean Gu and Vineths Ousmand were now breathing down his neck on 5/6, while Lachlan Cameron drew with Ryan Sam and Daniel Zhang upset Martin Jack. As for the Under 18 Open, Cedric now led outright on 5½/6 after a winning pawn sacrifice against Jason Tang; Yi Yuan reached 5/6 and ended Andrew Brown’s undefeated run by giving him the moanworthy choice of passivity or losing the exchange (he chose the latter), while Fedja and Yita drew a tough game.

Day 7 (8th Jan) – A rude shock greeted us when we came in today: all the kings were missing from the boards! We didn’t know if this was just a prank (the board numbers and name tags had also been jumbled), or something more malicious – we still haven’t found the kings – but we had the devil’s own time finding over 50 white and 50 black kings... When we finally got around to the chess (only slightly late), Caroline Shan won pawns to beat Denise Lim and share the lead in the Under 12 Girls on 5/5 with Mirakla. In the Under 18 Girls Sally Yu was forced to use all her time for once, but survived a possibly worse king and pawn ending to draw with Tamzin Oliver and maintain her lead on 4½/5 (from Sophie on 4/5). Yi Liu beat Vineths to lead by a full point on 6½/7 in the Under 12 Open, after a tough draw on Board 2 between Sean Gu and Daniel Lapitan. Cedric also led the Under 18 Open on 6½/7 after successfully attacking Sebastian Jule’s castled king; but Yi Yuan was only half a point behind him after checkmating Gene Nakauchi.

Day 8 (9th Jan) – Only 3 rounds left, and still no clear winner in sight in any of the four events! An outright leader at last in the Under 12 Girls, though, as Mirakla beat Denise to reach 6/6 (and a full point lead) while Caroline was stunningly beaten by Jana Pretorius after miscalculating a queen sacrifice. Sally Yu (5½/6) also led by a full point from Tamzin Oliver in the Under 18 Girls, after both these girls won (against Veronica Williams and Sophie Eustace respectively) with strong attacks on the enemy king. Joint leaders now in the Under 18 Open, as Cedric could only draw (playing on forever!) against Sam Dalton; he was thus caught on 7/8 by Yi Yuan (who won a nice ending against Jason Tang), with Andrew Brown only half a point further back after he benefited from Gene Nakauchi “playing for the loss” rather than a draw. But the most excitement was in the Under 12 Open, where Sean Gu’s prepared opening caught Yi Liu off guard, winning material (two pieces for a rook) and eventually the game. These two now shared the lead on 6½/8; with Daniel Lapitan only half a point behind, a thrilling finish was in sight...

Day 9 (10th Jan) – Finally, a real rest day for me! First of all, I allowed myself to be embarrassed by letting several juniors watch me play tennis at the venue during the problem solving; they laughed so much that my partner and I usually ended up winning... Then during the Lightning (won by Cedric Antolis in a playoff from Andrew Brown after both finished on 9/11), I enjoyed a visit to Adelaide Zoo; and finally an excellent party at Alan Goldsmith’s place for the “grand dame” of Australian chess, Evelyn Koshnitsky. I was now refreshed for the tournament’s end...

Day 10 (11th Jan) – The novice event was over (won by Sean Adcock on 7½/8), but in some of the other events the fun was just beginning... When Caroline won an exchange to beat Mirakla and Joanne Mason beat Denise Lim, we had a three way tie for first on 6/7 in the Under 12 Girls! Sally Yu almost had it wrapped up on 6½/7 in the Under 18 Girls, after Tamzin (5/7) could only draw with Alana Chibnall and Sophie (4½/7) also only drew with Natasha Bortsova. More drama in the Under 12 Open, after Callum Gray’s stunning upset win over Yi Liu; Sean Gu thus had the outright lead on 7/9 after drawing with Ryan Sam, helped by Daniel Zhang’s upset win against Daniel Lapitan. As for the Under 18 Open, Cedric Antolis beat Sam Grigg, then thought he would get the outright lead as Sam Dalton was holding Yi Yuan; but no, Yi turned it around and won! At least they no longer had to worry about Andrew Brown; he was upset by Jonas Muller...

Day 11 (12th Jan) – A two horse race now in the Under 12 Girls after Joanne shocked Mirakla; now the winner was going to be decided by the last round game between Joanne and Caroline, both on 7/8... Sean Gu, playing blitz as usual, was lucky to beat Daniel Zhang, after the latter missed the chance to win a piece in the opening; Sean later won the exchange after pinning the enemy queen, then made it count to maintain a half point lead on 8/10 over Yi Liu (who beat Stuart Mason). Meanwhile Sally had it won on 7½/8 in the Under 18 Girls after beating Abbie. As for the Under 18 Open, we seemed headed for a playoff: Cedric beat Jonas, Yi beat Fabian Ivancic and we waited with bated breath for their critical last round games...

Day 12 (13th Jan) – Congrats to Sally Yu for finally winning the Under 18 Girls on 8½/9 (she beat Alannah Byrne); Tamzin was second on 7/9 after grinding down Natasha, while Sophie got third on 6/9 after drawing with Leteisha Simmonds. The game between Joanne and Caroline in the Under 12 Girls resolved nothing, as Joanne agreed a draw in a superior position; she then went on to lose the rapid playoff. So, 7½/9 for both of them, but Caroline first, Joanne second and Mirakla third on 7/9. As for the Under 12 Open, more blitz for Sean Gu, who thus found himself in a lost ending with local Punala Kiripitige; a passed pawn was his sole compensation, but Punala could have blockaded it and won. Instead, he walked into a tactic; and Sean won a rook to end up Champion on 9/11! Poor Yi Liu could only look on, but still beat Daniel Zhang to get second on 8½/11; third was won by Ryan Sam on 8/11. Meanwhile the playoff happened in the Under 18 Open after Yi Yuan won from a drawish position against Yita Choong; Cedric beat Alex Stahnke so they both reached 10/11, while Andrew Brown was third on 8½/11 after beating Sam Grigg. Cedric won the Rapid playoff, so he is the new Australian Junior Champion! After an excellent closing ceremony, I had to rush off to catch a plane back to Sydney (which I only just caught!), as I was off to Queenstown the next day; but that’s another report altogether...

 Zachary Searle (1692) - Yita Choong (2058) [B96]
Lidums Australian Junior Championship Open U18 (2.2), 3/01/2009

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qc7 8. Qf3 b5 9. O-O-O b4 10. Nb1 Nbd7 11. Nd2 Nc5 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. f5 e5 14. N4b3 Bb7 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Nxc5 Qxc5 17. Nc4 h5 18. Qd3 Rg8 19. Ne3 Bh6 20. Nc4 Rd8 21. Be2 Ke7 22. Bf3 Bc6 23. g3 Bb5 24. Be2 Rc8 25. b3 Rgd8 26. Qd5 Qc7 27. Qd3 a5 28. Qf3 h4 29. gxh4 a4 30. Qh5 axb3 31. cxb3 Bf4 32. Qf3 Qc6 33. Rd5 Ra8 34. Qd3 Qa6 35. Qc2 Ra7 36. Na5 Qxa5 37. Bxb5 Rc8 38. Bc4 Qa3 39. Re1 Rca8 40. Re2 Rc7 41. Rd1 Qa7 42. Qd3 Qc5 43. Rg2 Ra5 44. Rg7 Kf8 45. Rdg1 Bh6 46. Rg8+ Ke7 47. R1g2 Rca7 48. Rh8 d5 49. Qxd5 Rd7 50. Qxc5+ Rxc5 51. Rxh6 1-0