Four colour chess

Actually this post is not about 4 player chess, or multi coloured chess boards, but more about an historical link between the Four Color Theorem and chess. The Four Color Theorem states that you only need 4 colours to colour a map so that no region with a shared boundary (not corner) has the same colour. It is one of those maths problems which are easy to state, kind of simple to test, but difficult to prove.
One of the earliest (erroneous) proofs was given by Alfred Kempe, who was a mathematician and lawyer. He was also a pretty strong chess player, capable of pulling off some brilliant combinations. I came across a very good example where a slight slip by his opponent allowed a nice queen sacrifice, which led to the black king being caught in a mating net. Both perfectly sound, and delightfully 19th century.

Kempe,Alfred - S,G [C60]
Casual

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 4. d4 Nxd4 5. Nxd4 exd4 6. Qxd4 c6 7. Bd3 d6 8. O-O Ng6 9. f4 f6 10. Qf2 Be7 11. Be3 c5 12. Qf3 O-O 13. Bc4+ Kh8 14. Qh5 Bd7 15. Rf3 Be8 16. Qxh7+ Kxh7 17. Rh3+ Nh4 18. Rxh4+ Bh5 19. Rxh5+ Kg6 20. f5+ Kxh5 21. Be2+ Kh4 22. Nd2 Qe8 1-0

2018 ACT Blitz Championship

Willis Lo has continued his recent run of good form, winning the 2018 ACT Blitz Championship this evening. He scored 8.5/9 conceding just one draw, to FM Michael Kethro. Kethro finished in second place on 7.5, just ahead of IM Andrew Brown on 7.
The 18 player field took  little bit of time to get used to the new FIDE Blitz rules, and as tournament director I did have a couple of tricky situations to deal with. Otherwise the tournament ran smoothly, and it also gave me a chance to test the new DGT Live software (you can see the top board game from each round at http://tournaments.streetchess.net/2018ACTLightning/)


Brown,Andrew (2263) - Lo,Willis
2018 ACT Lightning Championship Canberra, Australia (4.1), 30.01.2018

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Nh4 Bg4 10. f3 Bh5 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. f4 c5 14. Na2 Ba5 15. dxc5 Bc7 16. b4 Ne4 17. Bb5 Qh4 18. Bxd7+ Ke7 19. Qe2 Ng3 20. Qg2 Nxf1 21. Kxf1 Rad8 22. Bb5 Rd1+ 23. Ke2 Qe1+ 24. Kf3 f5 25. Be2 fxg4+ 26. Qxg4 Qh1+ 27. Qg2 Rh3+ 28. Kf2 Rxh2 29. Qxh2 Qxh2+ 30. Kf3 Re1 31. Nc3 Qh1+ 0-1

Upcoming Canberra events

The Canberra chess year is getting up and running, and as usual there are plenty of important events to play in over the next two months.
The first ACT Chess Association event of the year is the ACT Blitz Championship which is being held tomorrow night (30th January) at the Belconnen Chess Club from 7pm. This will be a 9 round event, with a time limit of 5m per game. It is open to all players.
The ACT Chess Championship will be running across the Canberra Day Weekend of the 9th-12th of March. It is a 7 round FIDE rated swiss with a time limit of G90m+30s. The venue will be Campbell High School, with a single round on the Friday night, and 2 rounds on each of the following days.
Then of course there is the O2C Doeberl Cup, which beings on the 29th of March. This year the tournament is being held at the Southern Cross Club Woden, which promises a larger venue and better facilities then University House.
And finally, if that isn't enough, there are a few weekend events outside Canberra, including the 2018 Dubbo Open, which is on the weekend of the 17th and 18th of March.

Bashing the Sicilian

I've featured a couple of wins by WIM Heather Richards from Gibraltar, and now it is the turn for WFM Alana Chibnall to take the spotlight. She looks to have won the Under 2000 prize in the Challengers A Event (Harry Press narrowly missed out on this last year), and while she is finding the Masters a little tougher, she did score a good win over a much higher rated opponent in round 2.
Meanwhile Heather Richards outplayed a strong IM in round 3 of the Masters and look to have finished as the best female player in the Challengers. Both players are performing well above their ratings and hopefully this good form will continue into the second week of the festival.


Chibnall,Alana (1906) - Van Zyl-Rudd,Jack (2197) [A00]
Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2018 Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar (2.124), 24.01.2018

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 a6 7. Be3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Kh1 Qc7 10. f4 b5 11. a3 Bb7 12. Bf3 Nbd7 13. Qe1 Nb6 14. Rd1 d5 15. e5 Nfd7 16. Qg3 Nc4 17. Bc1 Rac8 18. Bg4 Nc5 19. b4 Ne4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Bxe6 Rce8 22. Nf5 g6 23. Rd7 Qc6 24. Nxe7+ Rxe7 25. Rxe7 fxe6 26. Qh3 h5 27. Rxe6 1-0

A win for Australia but may be a loss for chess

Not one but two Australian personalities background in chess were highlighted in the news today.
2018 Australian of the Year Michelle Simmons attributed her start in science on beating her father in chess. Having achieved what was she thought was an unexpected win, she began to wonder what else she could achieve. These days she is a Professor in Quantum Physics at the University of New South Wales, where one of her projects is the design of a quantum computer. Read her story here.
The other chess player made good is young Australian leg spinner Lloyd Pope. After taking 8/35 against England in the Under 19 World Cup, it was revealed that apart from being a talented cricketer, he also played competitive chess while at high school. If his career develops, as seems likely, it may set up an interesting clash with Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal who plays currently plays T20 and ODI for his country, and previously represented India in chess at the junior level.

Betting on chess

While poking around the internet I came across the latest betting market on a couple of chess events. It seems you can odds on individual games at Gibraltar and Tata Steel, as well as odds on the tournament winner. You can even bet on a player not winning the event, with Carlsen having the shortest odds to win, and the best payout not to.
The current market for the upcoming Candidates Tournament has Aronian the favourite (at 5/1), with Caruana and Mamedyarov close behind at 11/2. Grishuck and Ding are the outsiders here at 13's. I'm not sure who is setting the odds btw but they've given the house about a 20% edge.

(Note: I am not naming the betting site, or endorsing betting on chess as this has both caused difficulties in the past within the chess world, and that  an organisation I have worked for in the past has oversight in this area)

First round dangers

If you have enough players sitting down to play chess, there is a good chance that at least some games won't go according to rating. And when most of those players are rated above 2000, then the chances of this happening are obviously increased.
The first round of the Gibraltar Masters saw this in spades where lower rated players proved to be quite a handful for their higher rated opponents. Top seed Lev Aronian was held to a draw by Anita Gara, while a number of GM's ended up on the wrong end of the scoreboard against non-GM opponents.
From an Australian point of view the most outstanding result was WIM Heather Richards beating GM Alexandra Kosteniuk. Richards did not seem overawed by her opponent, taking the fight to her right out of the opening, and capitalising on a blunder by Kosteniuk to win the exchange. Then it was a matter of converting this advantage into the full point, which Richards did after 5 hours of play.


Kosteniuk,Alexandra (2561) - Richards,Heather S (2223) [A00]
Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival 2018 Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar (1.52), 23.01.2018

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Be3 Qb6 5. a3 Ng4 6. Bg5 e5 7. Nf3 h6 8. Bh4 Nd7 9. Be2 Ngf6 10. b4 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Bc4 exd4 13. Qxd4 Qxd4 14. Nxd4 Ne5 15. Bb3 c5 16. Ndb5 Bd7 17. bxc5 dxc5 18. Bg3 Ng6 19. Nc7 Rac8 20. Rad1 Bc6 21. N7d5 c4 22. Nxe7+ Nxe7 23. Bxc4 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 Bxe4 25. Bb3 Nf5 26. Rd7 Bc6 27. Rd2 Nxg3 28. fxg3 Rce8 29. h4 g6 30. Rdf2 Re7 31. Rf6 Re2 32. Rxg6+ Kh7 33. Rxf7+ Rxf7 34. Bxf7 Re7 35. Rxc6 bxc6 36. Bb3 Re2 37. Kh2 h5 38. Ba4 c5 39. Bb5 Re3 40. Bd3+ Kg7 41. a4 Re1 42. g4 hxg4 43. Kg3 Ra1 44. Bb5 Ra2 45. c4 Rc2 46. Ba6 Kf6 47. Bb5 Rd2 48. Ba6 Rd4 49. a5 Rd2 50. Bb7 Rd4 51. Ba6 Kg6 52. Bc8 Rxc4 53. Bxg4 Ra4 54. Bd1 Rxa5 55. Kf4 Ra1 56. Be2 Ra4+ 57. Ke5 Rd4 58. Ba6 Kh5 59. g3 Kg4 60. Be2+ Kxg3 61. h5 a5 62. h6 a4 63. h7 Rh4 0-1

Lani and Richo's Great Big Chess Adventure

Two of Australia's leading women players, WIM Heather Richards and WFM Alana Chibnall have made the journey to Gibraltar to play in the 2018 Gibraltar Masters. Unlike the team of Press and Press (Shaun and Harry) in 2017, they are subjecting themselves to a more punishing schedule, playing in the Challengers in the morning, followed by the Masters in the afternoon.
The first round of the Challengers took place yesterday, with the Masters starting today (1am Canberra time).
It was a mixed set of results for the Australian's, with Chibnall losing after failing to spot a flaw in her plan, while Richards took advantage of a tactical mistake from her opponent. While watching the game live I thought Richards was always better, but it turned out that her opponent missed a couple of strong moves that would have won early on, and at least drawn towards the end.


Maric,Boris (2034) - Richards,Heather S (2223)
Gibraltar Challengers A Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar (1.6), 22.01.2018

1. c4 d6 2. g3 e5 3. Bg2 f5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. d3 c6 6. e4 Be7 7. Nge2 O-O 8. O-O a5 9. a3 Na6 10. exf5 Bxf5 11. d4 Qe8 12. f3 Qg6 13. Be3 Bc2 14. Qc1 Bb3 15. c5 Rfe8 16. cxd6 Bxd6 17. dxe5 Rxe5 18. Nd4 Bc5 19. Bf2 Bf7 20. Re1 Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Re8 22. Qd2 Nd5 23. Ne4 Bb6 24. Ng5 h6 25. Nxf7 Qxf7 26. Re1 Rd8 27. Bh3 Ndc7 28. Qc3 Nc5 29. Qc2 a4 30. Nf5 Nd3 31. Ne7+ Kf8 32. Bxb6 Nxe1 33. Ng6+ Kg8 34. Qf5 Nxf3+ 35. Kf2 Ng5 36. Qxf7+ Kxf7 37. Ne5+ Kf6 38. Bxc7 Nxh3+ 39. Kg2 Rc8 40. Ng4+ Kf7 41. Ne5+ Ke6 0-1

The openings we love, hurt us the most

GM Gawain Jones is well regarded here in Canberra, having played in a few Doeberl Cups, where he proved a friendly and entertaining  competitor. Despite moving up the chess ladder since then, he has stuck with a lot of the openings that he played back then, which is why he is a popular player elsewhere as well.
In the current Tata Steel event he wheeled out the Sicilian Dragon against World Champion Magnus Carlsen, which apparently surprised Magnus, despite the fact that Jones has even written a book on the opening. Whether through over confidence or carelessness, Carlsen even managed to blunder a piece in the opening, and looked gone for all money. But he did have a little play for it, and he began to pose problems for Jones. The pressure that Carlsen did exert began to tell and after a couple of inaccurate moves from Jones, momentum swung Carlsen's way. A few moves later the position was even, and then in Carlsen's favour. And soon after the first time control Jones had to resign a game that earlier on was headed for a different outcome.


Carlsen,Magnus (2834) - Jones,Gawain C B (2640) [B76]
80th Tata Steel GpA Wijk aan Zee NED (8.1), 21.01.2018

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O d5 10. Qe1 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Bc4 Be6 14. Kb1 Re8 15. Ne4 f5 16. Ng5 Bc8 17. g4 f4 18. h4 fxe3 19. Qxe3 h6 20. Qc5 Bb7 21. Ne4 Re6 22. h5 Qb6 23. g5 hxg5 24. Qa3 Rb8 25. b3 Qd8 26. Qxa7 gxh5 27. Rxh5 Rg6 28. Rxg5 Rxg5 29. Nxg5 Qc8 30. Rg1 Ra8 31. Qb6 Ra6 32. Qc5 Qd7 33. Ne4 Kh8 34. Qf2 Qe7 35. Bxa6 Bxa6 36. Qh2+ Kg8 37. Qh6 Qa7 38. Qe6+ Kf8 39. Rg5 Ne3 40. Qd6+ Kf7 41. Nc5 Bc8 42. Rxg7+ 1-0

The new Number 2

Fans of the Patrick McGoohan show "The Prisoner" will remember the importance of "Number 2", the ever changing antagonist of "Number 6". Recently the chess world has seen as similar situation where various players have taken on the role of  Number 2, potentially challenging Number 1 (Carlsen). The current Number 2 is Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who is currently leading Tata Steel after scoring his 3rd straight win. He is now a full 10 rating points ahead of third place in the live rankings and is only 18 points behind Carlsen. In part he has been aided by the collapse of Caruana, who has dropped 5 places, and 20 rating points, due to his poor results in Wijk aan Zee.


Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar (2804) - Wei,Yi (2743) [E06]
80th Tata Steel GpA Wijk aan Zee NED (7.5), 20.01.2018

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Nc3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Qxd4 14. Qxc7 Nc6 15. Qxb7 Na5 16. Qc7 Qd8 17. Qf4 Rb8 18. Rfd1 Qe7 19. Rab1 Rfc8 20. Ne4 Bg5 21. Qd6 Qxd6 22. Rxd6 Be7 23. Rxa6 Nc4 24. Rc1 Nxb2 25. Rxc8+ Rxc8 26. a5 Nc4 27. Ra7 Bb4 28. a6 f5 29. Rb7 fxe4 30. Bg4 1-0

Highest, Fastest, not quite the strongest

Having look through my database for some interesting games, I began to wonder who was the highest rated player to get mated in 5 moves, in a proper game. Finding the answer was not quite as simple as it looked, as there were a few examples where strong players clearly threw the game in a very obvious manner (An example of this was 1.f3 e5 2.h3 Qh4+ 3.g3 Qxg3#)
So the game I have chosen may not be the absolute record holder, but it at least looks plausible (if a bit weird).


Gardijan,Milan (2153) - Sulc,Gordana (2020) [B20]
Bizovac Metalis op 11th Bizovac (5), 28.02.2004

1. e4 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Ne2 Ne5 4. d4 Qa5+ 5. Bd2 Nd3# 0-1

BTW, if you are looking for games that end Mate in 6, then take you pick from vast number of people who walked into 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Qe2 Ngf6 6.Nd6#

ACT - Punching a little above its weight

While arbiting at the recent Australian Championship, I kept a special eye on the players from Canberra who took part in the various events. The ACT has always punched well above it's weight in Australian chess, and this year was no exception. Three ACT players took part in the Championship itself (IM Andrew Brown, FM Michael Kethro and Albert Winkelman) which is not a bad number considering the ACT makes up 1.6% of the Australian population. Andrew Brown finished in a tie for 8th place, while Michael Kethro (5/11) and Albert Winkelman (4.5/11) did not do so badly.
In the Reserves event Willis Lo finished in 2nd place, after going down in the final round. He started the event seeded 22nd, and had a particularly impressive second half of the event.
In the Classic event Matt Radisich surprised even himself by finishing in third place, going through the tournament undefeated to finish on 5.5/7.
And finally, Fred Litchfield  had a strong Blitz championship beating IM Stephen Solomon, FM Jack Puccini, and IM Leonid Sandler to score an impressive 7/11.

Viva Anand

After a less than stellar 2017 (except for the last bit), Viswanathan Anand continues his resurgence at the Tata Steel event in The Netherlands. He won his first round game against Maxim Matlakov and then drew with Karjakin in round 2. In round 3 he was up against Fabiano Caruana, and defying the age gap, beat the young American in a complicated game. He now leads the event on 2.5/3, along with Anish Giri, who seemingly surprised everyone by winning his first two games.
As I type this Giri is up against World Champion Magnus Carlsen in a sharp line of the French, where Black has thematically sacrificed the g and h pawns for activity in the centre. Anand is facing countryman Adhiban, and might be outright first by the time I wake in the morning.


Anand,V (2767) - Caruana,F (2811) [C42]
80th Tata Steel GpA Wijk aan Zee NED (3), 15.01.2018

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Qc2 Na6 10. a3 Bg4 11. Ne5 Bf5 12. b4 Nc7 13. f3 Bg6 14. c5 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Ng5 16. Bb2 d4 17. f4 Nd5 18. fxg5 Ne3 19. Qd2 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 Nxf1 21. Kxf1 Qxg5 22. Nd2 Qxe5 23. Nf3 Qh5 24. Qxd4 f6 25. Qc4+ Kh8 26. Bc1 Rfe8 27. Bf4 a5 28. Bd6 axb4 29. Qxb4 Qd5 30. Qxb7 h6 31. Kg1 Ra4 32. h3 Rc4 33. Qb2 Qd3 34. Ra2 Qd1+ 35. Kh2 Rc1 36. a4 f5 37. Qb7 f4 38. Bxf4 Rxc5 39. Rd2 Qxa4 40. Qf7 Rg8 41. Be5 Qc4 42. Rd6 1-0

2018 Australian Junior

The 2018 Australian Junior Chess Championship is up an running in Melbourne, and it looks like there is a record field on hand. The main event is the Under 18 championship which has attracted a pretty solid field of 22 players, although typically missing the very top Australian juniors.
The older age groups (open) run the entire length of the tournament, while the majority of events start on Wednesday. The ACT is represented by 8 players this year, with Sulia Van Sebille probably the best hope of taking home a title, in the Under 14 girls.

Tata Steel 2018

After two weeks of watching chess during the day, now it is back to two weeks of watching chess late at night. The 2018 Tata Steel event has just begun (15 minutes ago!), with the heavyweight clash of Carlsen v Caruana first up. The 14 player round robin also has Kramnik, Giri, So, Anand in the field, so there should be plenty of good games each round.
This tournament should also provide something of a preview for the upcoming Candidates tournament with a few of Carlsen's likely challengers in the field. It may be an opportunity for them to both test Carlsen, as well as try and get a physiological edge over each other. Of course Carlsen could use the tournament to repeat Capablanca's dominant win in the 1927 New York tournament ( 2.5 points ahead of Alekhine), although if he does, he should hope that history does not repeat itself further, as Alekhine then defeated Capablanca for the World Championship title later that year.

2018 Australian Championships - Illingworth wins

GM Max Illingworth finished his dominate run in the 2018 Australian Chess Championship with a final round win over FM Gene Nakauchi. Nakauchi chose a line against the French Defence that was known to be bad from one of his previous tournament games and Illingworth was already better by move 10. The game ended with a sacrificial attack followed by a smothered mate combination. The win moved him to 10 points from 11 rounds, a full point ahead of GM Anton Smirnov.
Smirnov had a quick final round game after WGM Pauline Guichard miscalculated a pawn grab and dropped a piece. GM Moulthun Ly secured third fourth place with a short final day draw with IM James Morris.
The other game of significance was between IM Ari Dale and IM Gary Lane. A win for Dale would have given him a 9 game GM norm, as he was able to drop two winning games over lower rated opponent earlier in the event, to raise the average rating of his opponents to the required level. Lane chose an aggressive attacking line against Dale's Caro-Kan, but once the attack petered out, Lane's lack of development proved fatal. The win gave Dale a TPR of just over 2600 which was enough for the norm.
The Reserves event also had a dramatic finish with WCM Nguyen Phan beating round 10 leader Willis Lo, to capture first place on 9/11. Phan, who lost her first round game, recovered from a slow start to finish the tournament with a run of 6.5/7. Despite the loss, Lo still finished outright second on 8.5/11.

Lane,Gary W (2401) - Dale,Ari (2356) [B18]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney (11.4), 12.01.2018

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nh3 e6 8. Nf4 Bh7 9. Bc4 Nf6 10. c3 Bd6 11. Ngh5 O-O 12. g4 Nxh5 13. Nxh5 Be4 14. f3 Bd5 15. Bxd5 exd5 16. g5 f6 17. f4 fxg5 18. hxg5 hxg5 19. Rg1 Nd7 20. Rxg5 Qe7+ 21. Qe2 Rae8 22. Qxe7 Rxe7+ 23. Kf2 Nf6 24. Nxf6+ Rxf6 25. Rg4 Rfe6 26. Rg1 Re2+ 27. Kf3 Kf7 28. f5 Rh2 29. a4 Ree2 30. a5 Rhf2+ 31. Kg4 Re4+ 32. Kh3 Rh2# 0-1

2018 Australian Championship - Day 10

GM Max Illingworth is on the verge of winning the 2018 Australian Championship, after another strong win in round 10. The Only player who can now possibly catch him is GM Anton Smirnov, who kept the gap between the two players to a single point, after also winning his round 10 game.
Illingworth is playing FM Gene Nakauchi in today's last round, while Smirnov faces WGM Pauline Guichard. A loss to Illingworth, and a win to Smirnov would see the title decided by a future playoff match.
GM Moulthun Ly's chances of being part of the last round dramataics took a hit when he drew with IM Kanan Izzat in round 10. He now sits on 7.5/10, along with IM Ari Dale who beat IM Stepehen Solomon in a tricky Bishop v Pawns ending. Despite the win, Dale has fallen just short  (by half a point) of scoring a GM norm, as the tournament does not have enough GM's for a 10 game norm, and his TPR for a 9 game norm is just below 2600. (*** Correction ***) If Dale beats Lane he does get a 9 game GM norm as he an drop wins over his two lowest rated opponents, and just exceed the 2600 TPR required.
In the Reserves tournament, Willis Lo has kept the lead with a round 10 win over Pieter Bierkins. He faces WCM Phan Nguyen in the final round, with the tournament being decided by the result of this game.
The final round for both tournaments commences at 1015 this morning, with all the winners likely to be known by mid afternoon.


Illingworth,Max (2494) - Lane,Gary W (2401) [D20]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney (10.1), 11.01.2018

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. d5 Ne5 6. Bf4 Ng6 7. Be3 Nf6 8. Bxc4 Nxe4 9. h3 Bd7 10. O-O Nd6 11. Bb3 e5 12. dxe6 Bxe6 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Qb3 Qd7 15. Nc3 Be7 16. Nd4 O-O 17. Qxe6+ Qxe6 18. Nxe6 Rfc8 19. Nd5 Ne8 20. Rad1 Kf7 21. Nxe7 Kxe7 22. Ng5 h6 23. Bc5+ Kf6 24. Ne4+ Kf7 25. Rd7+ Ke6 26. Rfd1 b6 27. Bb4 a5 28. Bc3 Nf8 29. R7d3 Kf7 30. f4 Nf6 31. Bxf6 gxf6 32. Rc3 Ke7 33. Rc6 Nd7 34. f5 Nc5 35. Nxc5 bxc5 36. Re6+ Kf7 37. Rd7+ Kg8 38. Rxf6 Rab8 39. Rg6+ Kf8 40. Rxh6 Ke8 41. Rg7 1-0

2018 Australian Championships - Day 9

The 9th round of the 2018 Australian Championship saw wins for the tournament leaders, leaving the places at the top unchanged. GM Max Illingworth seemed to catch IM Kanan Izzat by surprise in the opening, with Izzat thinking for 15 minutes over his third move (and leading GM Ian Rogers to ask me if the DGT broadcast had frozen). As Izzat fell further behind on the clock, his position deteriorated and he went down to a quick defeat.  GM Anton Smirnov beat veteran IM Stephen Solomon in a game which had a long tactical sequence that ended in a winning knight ending for Smirnov. GM Moutlhun Ly had to work a lot harder against FM Brandon Clarke, and was rewarded when Clarke made a fatal mistake in a ending that may have been hold-able.
With 2 rounds to go, Illingworth leads with an impressive 8/9. Smirnov and Ly are a point behind, with IM Ari Dale in 4th place on 6.5/9.
In the Reserves tournament, Willis Lo has taken the outright lead after beating George Lester. Lo, who had applied to play in the championship (along with a few other Reserves players), goes into the last to rounds on 7.5/9, ahead of 5 players on 7.

2018 Australian Championship - Day 8

The 2018 Australian Championship is now down to a race among 3 players, after some crucial round 8 games. On the top board GM Max Illingworth defeated IM Bobby Cheng, playing a very aggressive system against the Pirc. He held the initiative throughout the game, and Cheng resigned on move 34. IM Kanan Izzat had to fend off a strong attack from GM Anton Smirnov before drawing soon after the first time control. On board 3 GM Moulthun Ly put a dent in the chances of IM Ari Dale after beating him in 32 moves. Spotting a tactical chance, Ly got both of his rooks on the 7th rank, after which Dale's king was unable to be saved.
With 3 rounds to play, Illingworth leads with 7/8. Ly and Smirnov are a full point behind on 6/8. There is a group of players back on 5.5, but even if Illingworth does stumble in the final straight, I cannot see anyone from this group outpacing all the leaders.
The 2018 Reserves Championship continues to be a wide open event, with previous leader George Lester being brought back to the pack by CM Vishal Baht. They were joined on 6.5/8 by WCM Nugyen Phan, and Willis Lo, who both won their round 8 games. The top 4 are paired in round 9, so both this round and the next may decide who gets to play in the 2020 Championship.

2018 Australian Championship - Day 7

Back from the rest day, the 7th round of the 2018 Australian Championship saw the players engage in some very hard fought games. GM Max Illingworth maintained his half point lead, drawing with GM Moulthun Ly on the board 1 clash. On board 2 GM Anton Smirnov and IM Bobby Cheng played a very exciting game, where at one point Cheng looked to have overpressed, before reaching a position where Smirnov had to very careful in his choice of moves. A draw just after the first time control was the eventual outcome.
IM Ari Dale moved into outright third with a win over IM Andrew Brown. Dale, who had a poor run of form befoe Christmas, has bounced back in this event, and is edging closer to a possible GM level result (2600 performance rating). He is playing GM Moulthun Ly in round 8 and a win (or possibly a draw) would keep these chances alive.
Today's eighth round sees Illingworth against Cheng, Smirnov against IM Kanan Izzat, and Dale against Ly. The action begins at 1pm Sydney time (on site), with the delayed broadcast starting at 1:30pm


Brown,Andrew (2293) - Dale,Ari (2356) [E97]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney (7.3), 08.01.2018

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4 Nh5 10. Re1 f5 11. Qb3 h6 12. c5 fxe4 13. Nd2 e3 14. fxe3 e4 15. Ndxe4 Nf5 16. g3 Be5 17. Qc2 Nhxg3 18. hxg3 Nxg3 19. Nxg3 Bf5 20. Nxf5 Rxf5 21. Bg4 Rg5 22. Re2 Rxg4+ 23. Rg2 Qh4 24. Rxg4 Qxg4+ 25. Qg2 Qxg2+ 26. Kxg2 Bxc3 27. Rb1 Rf8 28. Ba3 Rf5 29. Rd1 Kg7 30. b5 Be5 31. b6 axb6 32. cxb6 cxb6 33. Rb1 Rf7 34. Rxb6 Rd7 35. Kf3 g5 36. Ke4 Kg6 37. Bb2 Bxb2 38. Rxb2 h5 39. Kd4 h4 40. e4 h3 41. e5 dxe5+ 42. Kxe5 Re7+ 43. Kd4 Rh7 44. Rb1 g4 45. Ke3 Rf7 46. d6 Kg5 47. Rh1 Kh4 48. Rd1 Rd7 49. Kf2 g3+ 50. Kg1 b5 51. a3 Kg4 52. Rd4+ Kf5 53. Rd3 h2+ 54. Kh1 Rg7 55. Rd1 Ke6 56. Kg2 Kd7 57. Kh1 Rg6 58. Kg2 Rxd6 59. Rb1 Rh6 60. Rh1 Rg6 61. Rc1 Kd6 62. Rd1+ Kc5 63. Rc1+ Kb6 64. Rb1 Ka5 65. Ra1 Ka4 66. Rb1 Rh6 67. Rh1 Kxa3 68. Kxg3 b4 0-1

2018 Australian Championship - Day 6

Day 6 of the 2018 Australian Championship was a rest day for the main events, which might have been a good thing given the extremely high temperatures in Sydney (over 40 Celsius for most of the day). Instead of slow chess, 102 players turned up to play the 2018 Australian Blitz Championship instead.
The tournament was an 11 round swiss, played with a 3m+2s time control. For the first time, the new FIDE Blitz rules were in effect, with the most significant change being that the first illegal move no longer loses the game (an additional minute being given to the opponent instead).
English FM Brandon Clarke was almost unstoppable in winning the event, scoring 10.5/11, dropping only half a point to IM James Morris. He played 1 GM and 5 IM's and had a performance rating over 2700. GM Moulthun Ly finished 2nd on 9.5/11, with IM Kanan Izzat third on 9/11. Ly's second place was enough to earn the title of Australian Blitz Champion though, as Clarke was ineligible for the title.
Despite the new rule changes, the tournament ran very smoothly. The two 'floor' arbiters (myself and Nick Cooper) were able to handle the various illegal move claims quite quickly (usually 2 or 3 a round), while Bob Keast did a great job of collecting results. A lot of the credit for the smooth running of the tournament should go to the players themselves, as there no disputes, and no reasons to trouble the appeals committee.

2018 Australian Championship - Day 5

The final round before the rest day saw players on the top 2 boards taking a pre-rest rest. Both games were drawn pretty quickly leaving GM Max Illingworth (5.5) in the lead over GM Anton Smirnov (5.0) by half a point. GM Moulthun Ly and IM Bobby Cheng (both 4.5) were joined in third place by IM Ari Dale, who beat Bahman Kargosha on board 3.
With 5 rounds the play the eventual winner will almost certainly come from this group of 5 players. Illingworth has a slight edge over Smirnov at this stage, both by virtue of his half point lead, and the energy required to win his games. On the other hand Illingworth has yet to play Cheng and Ly, while Smirnov only has Cheng to face in the leading group.
In the Reseves, Pieter Bierkens and George Lester share the lead with 5.5/6. There Round 7 clash will be keenly watched by the large chasing group, with 12 players within a point of the lead.
David Lovejoy finished outright first in the 7 round Classic, after beating John Redgrave in the final round. However most interest was in the board 2 game between Daniel Melamed and Peter Wilson, where Wilson (as Black) marched his king to a5 just out of the opening,  leaving the rest of his army behind. A very tough game ensued, with Melamed eventually winning a tricky RNvQ ending to secure second place.
Today (7th January) is a rest day for the Championships and Reserves. The Australian Chess Federation is holding their national conference, with the Australian Blitz Championship starting at 2 pm.

2018 Australian Championship - Day 4

GM Max Illingworth continues to lead the 2018 Australian Championship after beating IM Ari Dale, scoring his 5th consecutive win. Under pressure from Illingworth, Dale risked everything with a speculative rook sacrifice which was ultimately unsuccessful. Close behind Illingworth is GM Anton Smirov who found IM James Morris' king a juicy target. Tomorrow the two leaders face off in a game that will have a significant say in the final outcome of the tournament.
Further down there were a few tragedies, with FM Tim Reilly unable to avoid a stalemate trick from Sam Asaka, despite being a piece up in the ending, while IM Gary Lane found almost the only move that gave GM Moulthun Ly a forced mate in an otherwise drawn ending.
The Resrves sees 4 players now sharing the lead, with Vishal Baht, Tom Slater Jones, George Lester and Pieter Berkins all on 4.5/5. Bhat and Berkins meet on the top board, with Lester and Slater-Jones playing on board 2.
The final round of the Classic is being played tomorrow, with David Lovejoy leading on 5.5/6. He plays John Redgrave who is 5 points, while Daniel Malamed and Peter Wilson (also on 5) play on the second board. Obviously a win for Lovejoy makes him outright first, while any other result could lead to a tie at the top.


Russell,Paul - Shi,Eric [B01]
2018 Australian reserves (5), 05.01.2018

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Bb5+ Nbd7 5. f3 Bf5 6. c4 e6 7. g4 Nxg4 8. fxg4 Qh4+ 9. Ke2 Qxg4+ 10. Nf3 Qg2+ 11. Ke3 g6 12. Rg1 Bh6+ 13. Ng5 Bxg5# 0-1

2018 Australian Championship - Day 3

GM Max Illingworth is the outright leader in the 2018 Australian Championship, after 4 rounds of play. Today he beat IM George Xie in a tactical game to move half a point of closest rivals, GM Anton Smirnov and IM Ari Dale, who drew their top board clash.
There were a number of tough games further down, with wins to GM Moulthun Ly, IM James Morris, IM Bobby Cheng and GM Gene Nakauchi moving them to a share of 4th place with 3/4. Round 5 will see Dale play Illingworth on board 1, with Morris against Smirnov on board 2.
CM Tom Slater-Jones and CM  Vishal Baht share the lead in the Reserves tournament with 4/4. They play on the top board in round 5. Just behind on 3.5 is a group of 4 players, including Tom's brother Henry.
With 2 rounds to play in the Classic, David Lovejoy and Kevin Shen share the lead with 4.5/5. They play in tomorrows 6th round, with the winner looking good to take out first place. A draw would even throw the event wide open, as there are a further 6 players tied for third on 4/5.
The start time for all events tomorrow is 1pm. The top 8 boards of the championship are being broadcast via Chess24, while the top 2 boards of the Reserves can be seen at http://auschess.org.au/acf/live-games/online-dgt-room-e/


Illingworth,Max (2494) - Xie,George Wendi (2369) [A45]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney (4.2), 04.01.2018

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Nf3 Bb7 5. Bd3 g6 6. c4 Bg7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O Nh5 9. Bg5 Qe8 10. e4 h6 11. Be3 f5 12. Re1 f4 13. Bd2 Nc6 14. e5 Ne7 15. Nb5 Qd8 16. Nh4 f3 17. g3 a6 18. Nc3 Qe8 19. Re3 g5 20. Nxf3 Qf7 21. Ne4 Nf5 22. Nfxg5 Qg6 23. Re1 hxg5 24. Nxg5 Bh6 25. h4 Bxg5 26. Bxg5 Qf7 27. Qg4 Nhg7 28. Bf6 Kh7 29. d5 Nh5 30. Bxf5+ exf5 31. Qxf5+ Qg6 32. Qxg6+ Kxg6 33. Bg5 Rae8 34. Rad1 b5 35. c5 Rf3 36. Rd4 Ref8 37. Re2 R3f5 38. Kg2 a5 39. f4 b4 40. Rf2 Ng7 41. g4 R5f7 42. Kg1 Kh7 43. h5 Rg8 44. Rg2 Bxd5 45. Rxd5 Ne6 46. Rf2 c6 47. Rd6 Rgg7 48. Kg2 Kg8 49. Rxe6 dxe6 50. Rd2 Rd7 51. Rd6 Rxd6 52. exd6 Rb7 53. Kf3 e5 54. fxe5 Kf7 55. Bf6 b3 56. a3 a4 57. g5 Ke6 58. g6 Rb4 59. g7 1-0

2018 Australian Chess Championship - Day 2

Today saw the first, and only double round day of the 2018 Australian Chess Championship. Double round days can be quite difficult to manage for players, as the temptation to 'conserve' energy can lead to some missed opportunities. It turned out not to be the case in most games however, as both the morning and afternoon rounds saw tough battles across all the boards.
At the end of three round three players share the lead on 3/3. GM Anton Smirnov beat IM Andrew Brown in the morning round, and followed it up by beating GM Moulthun Ly in a hard fought game in round 3. GM Max Illingworth had a good win over IM James Morris to also reach 3, while IM Ari Dale bounced back to form with wins over IM Bobby Cheng and IM Kanan Izzat.
Tomorrows round sees Smirnov play Dale on board 1, while Illingworth is up against the returning IM George Xie.
The Reserves event is still proving to be a very tough event, with the top 9 seeds all dropping at least half a point over their first 3 games. Tom Slater-Jones is the highest seeded player on 3, joined by another 5 players on the same score.
The 7 round Classic tournament also has a multiple tie for first, with 5 players on 3/3. Tomorrow is another double round day for this tournament, so the potential winners of this tournament should be a little more apparent after another 2 games. Unlike the Reserves, the top seeds are doing a lot better, although I would not rule out a surprise winner.

2018 Australian Championships - Day 1

The 2018 Australian Championship began today, with most of the top seeds surviving a testing first round. The 34 player event saw a couple of upsets, with Arthur Huyhn beating IM Stephen Solomon, and FM Kevin O'Chee scoring a nice win over IM Gary Lane. On the other hand top seed GM Anton Smirnov had a fairly straight forward win over FM Michael Kethro, and IM Bobby Cheng rebuffed an ambitious attack by FM Zachary Loh.
The Reserves tournament attracted a field of 98 players, and the top seeds found it especially tough. Kevin Sheldrick drew on board 1 to Nicholas Johnson, while seeds 3 (WCM Phan Nguyen) and 4 (Nathan Hibberd) both went down.
The Classic saw a field of 65 players, with the top half scoring heavily. One exception was Sophie Davis defeating Patrick Beahan, a rating difference of 848 points.
Tomorrow is a double round day for all 3 events. Round two starts at 10:15am, with round 3 at 3:30 pm. The top 8 boards are being broadcast at Chess24, with the non broadcast games being available after the round is finished.


Huynh,Arthur (2042) - Solomon,Stephen J (2365) [D67]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney AUS (1.9), 02.01.2018

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. O-O Nxc3 12. bxc3 e5 13. Qb3 e4 14. Nd2 Nf6 15. a4 Bf5 16. Ra1 Rad8 17. a5 Rd6 18. Be2 Ng4 19. Bxg4 Bxg4 20. Qb4 Rd7 21. Qxe7 Rxe7 22. Rfe1 f5 23. Nc4 Bh5 24. h3 Rd8 25. Rab1 Bf7 26. Ne5 c5 27. a6 Bd5 28. axb7 Bxb7 29. Rb5 cxd4 30. cxd4 g6 31. Reb1 Bd5 32. Ra5 g5 33. Rba1 h5 34. Rxa7 Rxa7 35. Rxa7 h4 36. Ra6 Kh7 37. Rf6 g4 38. hxg4 fxg4 39. Nxg4 Kg7 40. Ra6 Rc8 41. Rh6 Rc2 42. Rxh4 Kg6 43. Ne5+ Kg5 44. Rg4+ Kf5 45. f3 exf3 46. gxf3 Bb3 47. e4+ Kf6 48. Rg6+ Ke7 49. Rg2 Rc3 50. Kh2 Bc2 51. Rg3 Re3 52. Rg4 Re1 53. Kg3 Kf6 54. Kf4 Rd1 55. Rg6+ Ke7 56. Kf5 Rd2 57. Rg7+ Kf8 58. Rd7 Ba4 59. Rf7+ Ke8 60. d5 Rh2 61. Ra7 Bd1 62. d6 Rh5+ 63. Kf4 Rxe5 64. Kxe5 Bxf3 65. Rh7 Kd8 66. Kf4 Bd1 67. e5 Bb3 68. Ra7 1-0

A quick update from Sydney

The start of the 2018 Australian Chess Championships is only a few hours away. The tournament set up is complete, and all that is needed is for the players to turn up!
The top 8 boards of the Championship are being broadcast on Chess24. The direct link is https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/australian-championship-2018#live
There will also be embedded pages from the tournament website, although this will be set up later.