A family affair

 It isn't always the easiest thing to play someone in your immediate family, but it is sometimes necessary. In small events (local local club tournaments) it cannot always be avoided, although I was a little fortunate in avoiding my son in a lot of tournaments (I started with 3 wins in standard chess, but that was it for me).

In bigger events it is less likely to happen, but depending on the profile of the players, it can often draw a crowd.

Botez,Andrea (1879) - Botez,Alexandra (1970) [D02]
Sardinia Worldchess https://lichess.org/study/oBL0 (3.48), 29.04.2024

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 d5 4. Nf3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. Bd3 b6 9. Ne5 Qc7 10. f4 cxd4 11. exd4 g6 12. Bf2 a5 13. Qe2 Nh5 14. g3 Nb8 15. a4 f6 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. Bxg6 Ng7 18. h4 Nc6 19. h5 e5 20. h6 Ne6 21. Qg4 Kh8 22. f5 Ng5 23. O-O Ne7 24. dxe5 Bxe5 25. Qe2 Bxf5 26. Bxf5 Nxf5 27. Kg2 Bxg3 28. Bxb6 Nh4+ 29. Kh1 Qxb6 30. Qd3 Be5 31. Qxd5 Rad8 32. Nc4 Rxd5 33. Nxb6 Rd2 0-1

2024 ACT Teams - Rescheduled to 5th May

 The 2024 ACT Teams Rapid Championship is being held on Sunday, 5th May 2024, at Campbell High. This event is open to all ACTCA members as well as all members of the ACTJCL. The format of the tournament is teams of 4, playing 7 rounds of 15 minute chess. The last event was held in 2022 and a good time was had by all.

Tournament Details
Date: Sunday 5th May 2024 - Registration from 9:30am, Prize giving at 3:30pm

Venue: Campbell High School, Trealor Cres, Campbell ACT

Rounds: 7

Time control: G15+5s

Prizes: 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed trophies. Medals for the best scorer on each board. Bonus prizes for best dressed team, best work/social team. The Larko Cup will be awarded to the best official club team

Team Rules
1. Teams consist of 4 players (+1 reserve if you wish)
2. The average rating of boards 2,3 and 4 must be below 1850 (FIDE Rapid). Board 1 can have any rating you wish! If a player does not have a FIDE Rapid rating, then ACF Quickplay will be used. Unrated players will count as 1400 (NB FIDE is increasing players ratings on 1st March 2024)
3. Teams must play in rating order (players within 50 points of each other may swap)
4. Players without a team are welcome as teams will also be formed on the day
5. Each team will appoint a captain who is responsible for results etc

Cost: $10 per player (Pay on the day)

Lunch: A nutritious lunch will be provided by the organisers

Pre-registration: To make organising a little easier, teams can be submitted to Shaun Press shaunpress@gmail.com There will be a lucky door prize for teams that pre-register

Rated: This event will be ACF and FIDE Rated.

Anzac Day Hybrid

The team representing the ACT Junior League has won the 2024 Anzac Day Junior Hybrid Event, its 2nd win in 2 years. The event brought together 5 teams representing ACT, Victoria (Hobson Bay), NSW (JZMC), Western Australia (Kingsley CC) and Christchurch NZ (ISCC). The event was a 5 round RR, played over 6 games per match.

The ACT team scored 18.5/24, with HBCC on 13, JZMC 12, ISCC 9.5 and KCC 7. Despite the margin of victory, the event was a lot closer than the scores indicated with a number of games in the final round ACT v HBCC match looking like they could go either way. 

The tournament was organised by IA Casey Goh (HBCC) and was played with a time limit of G30m+15s inc. Four players score 4/4, Okitha Babaranda (ISCC), Olamide Fasakin (ACT), Dev Raichura (ACT) and Olaoluwa (ACT).

Eleutherios,Thomas - Hari,Dhruv (1486) [B76]
ANZAC Day Inter Club Juniors Hybrid Frie Tornelo INT (5.1), 25.04.2024

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O Bd7 10. Be2 a6 11. g4 b5 12. h4 b4 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. exd5 Bb5 16. h5 Bxe2 17. Qxe2 a5 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. Qh2 f6 20. Qh7+ Kf7 21. Rh6 Rg8 22. Qxg6+ Kf8 23. Rdh1 Qe8 24. Qf5 a4 25. Rh7 Qf7 26. Bh6 b3 27. Rxg7 Rxg7 28. Qh7 Qg8 29. Bxg7+ Qxg7 30. Qh8+ Qg8 31. cxb3 axb3 32. a3 Kf7 33. Rh7+ Kf8 34. Qxg8+ Kxg8 35. Rxe7 Rc8+ 36. Kb1 Rc5 37. Rb7 Rxd5 38. Rxb3 1-0

That was wild

 A very spectacular Candidates event came to an end with an amazing finish. Gukesh ended up winning the event outright, but only after Caruana and Nepo drew in 100+ moves. A real tragedy for Caruna, as he had two winning positions, which he failed to convert. Watching the game online was a real roller coaster, as the game went from equal to winning for Caruna to drawn, back to winning for Caruana, and finally drawn. As a result Gukesh will play Ding Liren for the World Championship title, which given Ding's recent form, may see Gukesh become the youngest World Champion ever.

  

Caruana,Fabiano (2803) - Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2758) [D35]
FIDE Candidates 2024 Toronto, Canada (14), 21.04.2024

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. Qc2 h5 10. f3 Nxg3 11. hxg3 Be6 12. Bd3 c6 13. O-O-O Nd7 14. f4 Bg4 15. Nf3 Qe7 16. e4 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Bxf3 18. gxf3 dxe4 19. Bxe4 gxf4 20. g4 O-O-O 21. d5 h4 22. dxc6 Nc5 23. Bf5+ Kb8 24. Kb1 b6 25. Rd7 Rxd7 26. cxd7 Rd8 27. Qd4 Nxd7 28. Rd1 Qc5 29. Qxf4+ Qc7 30. Qd2 h3 31. Be4 a5 32. Qd5 Ka7 33. Qxf7 h2 34. Qh7 Kb8 35. a3 Qe5 36. Qh6 Qc7 37. g5 Rg8 38. Rh1 Nc5 39. Bh7 Rxg5 40. Qxg5 Qxh7+ 41. Ka1 Qc2 42. Qg8+ Ka7 43. Ka2 a4 44. f4 Nb3 45. Qg7+ Ka6 46. Qc3 Qg2 47. Qc4+ Kb7 48. Re1 Nc5 49. Qf1 Qd5+ 50. Kb1 Qf5+ 51. Ka1 Qc2 52. f5 Nd3 53. Rb1 Nc5 54. f6 Nb3+ 55. Ka2 Nd2 56. Qh1+ Ka7 57. Rc1 Qb3+ 58. Ka1 Qe6 59. Rc7+ Ka6 60. f7 Nb3+ 61. Kb1 Qf5+ 62. Ka2 Nc5 63. Qa8+ Kb5 64. Qc6+ Ka6 65. Qa8+ Kb5 66. Qc6+ Ka6 67. Re7 Qf1 68. Qa8+ Kb5 69. Qe8+ Ka6 70. Qa8+ Kb5 71. Qe8+ Ka6 72. Re4 Nxe4 73. Qxa4+ Kb7 74. Qxe4+ Ka7 75. Qa4+ Kb7 76. Qd7+ Ka6 77. Qc8+ Ka7 78. f8Q Qxf8 79. Qxf8 h1Q 80. a4 Qd5+ 81. Ka3 Qd3+ 82. b3 Qd4 83. Qf7+ Kb8 84. Qe8+ Ka7 85. Qe7+ Kb8 86. Qe1 Qd6+ 87. Qb4 Qf6 88. Qd2 Qe7+ 89. b4 Qe6 90. Qd3 Ka7 91. Qc3 Kb8 92. Qb3 Qf6 93. Qe3 Qd6 94. Kb3 Qd5+ 95. Kb2 Qd6 96. Qe8+ Ka7 97. Qf7+ Kb8 98. Kc3 Qe5+ 99. Kd3 Qd6+ 100. Kc4 Qc6+ 101. Kb3 Qd6 102. Qf3 Qd4 103. Qe2 Qd5+ 104. Ka3 Qd6 105. Qb5 Qd4 106. Kb3 Ka7 107. Qe2 Qd5+ 108. Ka3 Qd4 109. Kb3 1/2-1/2

Yeh, nah

 Sometimes a trap is so tempting, so obvious, and so spectacular, that there is no way it could work. And in a lot of cases you would be right. But sometimes you play it anyway, and it turns out that it really doesn't work. The game below is an example, except the trap did work. To preserve the identities of the perpetrator and the victim, I'm leaving the names off. The moves given are what *should have happened* if Black had played 7. ... Qb6. Instead he chose 7. ... Qd6?? and resigned after 8.Ne5+ Kd8 9.Nxf7+ 7. ... Qb6 would have been -3 for White with the correct follow up

FM White - Mr Black
I'm not telling Swiss

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bb5+ Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Ne5 Bxd1 7. Nxc6 Qb6 8. Ne5+ Kd8 9. Nxf7+ Kc8 10. Kxd1 d4 11. Be2 dxc3 12. dxc3 Qxf2 13. Bf3 g5 14. Bxg5 Bg7 15. Nxh8 Bxh8

Down to 4

 After a couple of exciting rounds, the 2024 Candidates is down to 4 players. There is a 3 way tie at the top, with Nepo, Naka, and Gukesh all on 7.5, with Fabi on 7. Nepo and Nakamura have the toughest assignments, playing each other in round 13 and then Caruana and Gukesh respectively in the last round. Gukesh has an out of form Firouzja in round 13, while Caruana is playing a much tougher Prag. At this stage Gukesh seems to have the best run home, but this could all change if Nakamura can pull off the big final round comeback. 

Caruana,Fabiano (2803) - Vidit,Santosh Gujrathi (2727) [C54]
FIDE Candidates 2024 Toronto, Canada (12.4), 18.04.2024

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 Ne7 10. Re1 Ng6 11. a5 c6 12. Bb3 Re8 13. d4 d5 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Rxe5 16. exd5 Rxe1+ 17. Qxe1 Nxd5 18. Bc2 Be6 19. Nf3 Qd7 20. c4 Ne7 21. Be3 Bxe3 22. Qxe3 Rd8 23. Qc5 h6 24. b3 Qc7 25. Re1 Kf8 26. Re3 Ke8 27. Qh5 Kf8 28. Qc5 Ke8 29. g4 Qf4 30. Kg2 Rd7 31. Re4 Qd6 32. Qe3 c5 33. Re5 Nc6 34. Rd5 Qc7 35. Rxc5 Re7 36. Qc3 Qd6 37. Rh5 f6 38. Bg6+ Kd8 39. Qe3 Kc8 40. Qb6 Kb8 41. Rc5 Bd7 42. b4 Qf4 43. Bf5 Bxf5 44. Rxf5 Qc7 45. Qc5 Re4 46. Qd5 Re2 47. b5 Nxa5 48. Nd4 Rb2 49. bxa6 Nc6 50. Qg8+ Nd8 51. Rd5 Ka7 52. Rxd8 1-0

Of shoes and ships and sealing wax ...

 I was asked by one of my readers about whether I was going to comment on the latest happenings in the Candidates Tournament. My initial inclination was to say no*, but with todays extra spice I've changed my mind.

Yesterdays fun started when Chief Arbiter Aris Marghetis asked Alireza Firouzja to stop making so much noise with his shoes when walking around. Apparently this had disturbed at least one other player, who had complained to Aris. Firouzja was not happy about the request, and after the round complained on social media. 

As an Arbiter, I've also had to deal with this issue from time to time. It usually occurs when the venue has hard wood floors, and more formal shoes (ie not sandshoes) are being worn. Normally such requests are handled in good spirits, although not always.

Having dealt with yesterdays issues, another Firouzja related incident occurred in todays round. Normally no spectators/seconds/family members are allowed on the playing floor after the round starts. However this as relaxed for later rounds, with access for the first 15 minutes for family etc being allowed. However, when Firouzja father was asked to leave he made a bit of a scene, and outside said he was going to call the police on the organisers. Again this looks like a case of a reasonably normal request being treated with outright hostility. Again in my experience as an arbiter, players/parents/spectators who insist on everyone else being potential lawbreakers are the ones that react the worst when regulations to protect the integrity of the event are applied to them!

*By way of explanation. At one point in the lead up to the Candidates I was asked if I was available to be one of the Deputy Arbiters. I did say yes, but it then turned out they rolled the job of Deputy Arbiter and Fairplay officer into one position and I was the odd one out. I've also worked with Aris Marghetis in the past and he is an excellent arbiter, especially in the area of  'crowd control'. So anything I write on this topic is going to support the decisions he made.

Watching rather than writing

 I'm a big fan of reading about chess (and most other things) but I am falling into the trap of watching more chess than reading (or writing). Maybe this is just me catching up with the times, or just part of my continuing descent into laziness. It probably hasn't been helped in the short term by picking up my usual cold after running an interschool event (120 players at the ACT Girls Primary Championships). 

Having said that I will probably stick to writing as (a) I have a good face for radio and (b) it probably takes *more* effort to produce visual content than it does to produce written content.

Randomised positions

 While there is a belief that top level chess has a dependence on extensive opening preparation, I'm not convinced it is true. Certainly Carlsen seems to do well with his "make it up as I go along" opening approach, and a number of other players are following his lead. The following game from the Candidates certainly started with a surprise opening, but the evaluation of who was better seemed to swing back and forward throughout the game, indicating the while Prag may have been comfortable with the opening, he wasn't relying on it to deliver a victory.

Vidit,Santosh Gujrathi (2727) - Praggnanandhaa R (2747) [C70]
FIDE Candidates 2024 Toronto, Canada (3.4), 05.04.2024

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 f5 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 b5 7. Bb3 Na5 8. Nxd4 Bb7 9. Nxf5 Nxb3 10. axb3 d6 11. Qe2 Qd7 12. e6 Qc6 13. Bg5 g6 14. Ne3 h6 15. Bf4 Ne7 16. c4 b4 17. Qg4 Qc5 18. O-O Bg7 19. Nd2 O-O-O 20. h4 Rde8 21. Rad1 Bxb2 22. Nd5 Nxd5 23. cxd5 Bxd5 24. e7+ Kb8 25. Be3 Qb5 26. Nc4 Bc3 27. Bd4 Rhg8 28. Bxc3 bxc3 29. Qd4 Bb7 30. Qxc3 Rxe7 31. Na5 Re5 32. b4 g5 33. h5 g4 34. Rfe1 g3 35. Nxb7 gxf2+ 36. Kxf2 Qxb7 37. Qf3 Reg5 38. Qxb7+ Kxb7 39. g4 Rxg4 40. Re6 Rh4 41. Rxh6 Rg5 42. Rh7 Rhxh5 43. Rd7 Kc8 44. Re7 Re5 45. Rg7 Rhf5+ 0-1

Candidates Chaos

 The 2024 Candidates Tournament is underway in Toronto, and round 2 of the Open section saw 4 decisive games. Probably the most noteworthy was Vidit beating Nakamura, although Caruana's win over Abasov may be the most consequential. 

Going into the tournament, Caruana was probably the favourite, with Nakamura considered the player most likely to defy the odds. However, considering the rating spread of the field, I think the games between the leaders won't be as important as the games against the back markers (like Candidates events of old). So the win by Caruana was an important won, as was Nepo's win over Firouzja. If at the halfway mark someone is +3 (or more), then it may be all over for the rest of the field.

Caruana,Fabiano (2803) - Abasov,Nijat (2632) [B30]
FIDE Candidates 2024 Toronto, Canada (2.4), 04.04.2024

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e5 4. O-O Bd6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. h3 a6 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. Nh4 Re8 10. Qf3 g6 11. Bg5 Be7 12. Qe3 Nh5 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Nf3 b6 15. a3 b5 16. Ne2 f6 17. Nd2 Be6 18. f4 Nxf4 19. Nxf4 exf4 20. Rxf4 Rad8 21. Qf2 Rf8 22. Rf1 Kg7 23. b4 cxb4 24. axb4 Ra8 25. Kh1 a5 26. bxa5 c5 27. Ra1 Ra6 28. e5 f5 29. c4 bxc4 30. dxc4 Rfa8 31. Nb3 g5 32. Qg3 h6 33. Rf2 Bxc4 34. Rxf5 Bxb3 35. Qxb3 Rxa5 36. Raf1 Kh8 37. Rf7 1-0

Melbourne International Open

 With the Doeberl Cup run and done for another year, a number of players made their way to Melbourne for the new Melbourne International Open. The brain child of local organiser Walter Wolffs, the event has attracted both a large and strong field. And whether there were some residual effects from the Doeberl schedule, the first couple of rounds were a bit of a bloodbath for the top seeds. 

The top 4 boards saw the higher rated players only manage 1.5 (3 draws and a loss), with GM Darryl Johansen also a victim. After that things settled down a bit, although there are few GM's and IM's playing catch up. 

And while the net effect of this may be to provide lower seeded players a change to challenge titled players, the results aren't always pretty.

Venkatesh,M.R. (2382) - Li,Tedric (1990) [C00]
Round 4: Venkatesh, M.R. - Li, Tedric Melbourne International Open, 04.04.2024

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 b6 3. Bg2 Bb7 4. d3 d5 5. Nbd2 e6 6. O-O Be7 7. e4 c5 8. Re1 O-O 9. e5 Nfd7 10. Nf1 Nc6 11. h4 h6 12. N1h2 b5 13. Bf4 a5 14. Qd2 c4 15. d4 b4 16. c3 bxc3 17. bxc3 Ba6 18. Bxh6 gxh6 19. Qxh6 Re8 20. Ng4 f6 21. Ng5 fxg5 22. Qxe6+ Kg7 23. Qh6+ Kg8 24. Bxd5# 1-0

2024 O2C Doeberl Cup - Three in a row for Melkumyan

 GM Hrant Melkumyan has recorded his 3rd O2C Doeberl Cup tournament win in  a row, after a dominant performance in the 2024 edition. Going into the final round a full point ahead, he drew with GM Mitrabha Guha to reach 8/9. IM Peng Cheng also drew on board 2, to take 2nd place on 7/9. IM Arghyadip Das defeated FM Albert Winkleman on board 3 to take a share of 2nd, also ending Winkelman's chances of scoring an IM norm in the process. 

The Major was won by Bryan Yang on 6..5/7. He finished a point ahead of Elliot Wong, Ethan Chang and Daniel Wang. The Minor was shared between Austin Chen and Chee Seng Lue, who both scored 6/7. The Mini saw Aden Power finish with a perfect 7/7, a full point ahead of Alexander Warne.

2024 O2C Doeberl Cup - Day 4

 GM Hrant Melkumyan ended the 4th day of the 2024 O2C Doeberl Cup with one hand firmly attached to the trophy. After a draw in round 7 against IM James Morris, he played a nice attacking game against FM Fred Litchfield to maintain his one point lead over the chasing pack. Chinese IM Peng Cheng holds down second place after beating Morris in Round 8, with the Indian trio of GM Guha, GM Venkatesh and IM Das in equal third.

Of interest to the Canberra Chess community is FM Albert Winkelmans final round games against IM Das. A win for Winkelman will secure him an IM norm, his first. Other Canberra players on the top boards are IM Junta Ikeda (Board 4) and FM Frred Litchfield (Board 7).

The final round will finish around 1:30pm today. You can see the final standings for the Premier, and the other events at www.doeberlcup.com.au