For myself, who was just getting into chess, this was a big thing, and I attended on as many days as I good. I even took along one of my chess books and asked both Ian Rogers and Darryl Johansen if they could autograph it. While both seemed bemused by my request they did sign, for which I have always been grateful.
Unfortunately the only game that seems to available from this event was Lloyd Fell's sensational win over Ian Rogers. While this game may appear at some point in the future it would be unkind to Ian to publish it in the context of this article. So instead I did some searching and found a nice game from earlier in Ian's career.
The following game was played in the 1978 Victorian Junior Championship. Ian's opponent is well known Melbourne chess identity, Angelo Tsagarakis. The opening was the Henning-Schara Gambit, an opening that Ian took with him when he began his international career.
Tsagarakis,A - Rogers,I [D32]
VIC Junior ch, 1978
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 cxd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Qd1 exd5 7.Qxd5 Bd7 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Qb3 Bc5 10.Bg5 Qa5 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.0-0-0 0-0-0 13.Qxf7 Bxf2 14.g3 Be3+ 15.Kb1 Bf5+ 16.Ka1 (D)
16. ... Qxc3 17.Rxd8+ Rxd8 18.bxc3 Rd1+ 19.Kb2 Rb1+ 20.Ka3 Bc5+ 0-1
3 comments:
Hello Shaun,
Re the game from the Vic Junior 1978: I wonder if you have the wrong event or year?
I played in the 'Victorian Junior'(?) in November or December 1978 while on a Melbourne stopover en route from Europe to NZ.
I am pretty sure Ian was overseas at the time. I remember that Panno Skiotis, Angelo Tsagarakis and Stephen Solomon all competed, so perhaps they will remember?
But presumably Ian is the best person to ask!
Cheers, Tony Dowden (Launceston, TAS)
Yes. I'm basing my dates and description on what Chessbase tells me, so of course it could be wrong. It may have been from a year earlier as Ian would have turned 18 in 1978. I'll ask him when I see him.
Shaun
The Victorian Junior is held in May or June - the Victorian Junior Open is (or was) at the end of the year.
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