Street Justice

 A long time ago I was playing in an event when my opponent had a tricky choice. He was better but I hoped he wouldn't see the strongest move in the position (which I had spotted). His task was made considerably easier when a spectator simply told him to play that move, which he then did. Complaints to the arbiter were met with a 'What can I do?' response, especially as my opponent claimed he was just about to play that exact move anyway.

I had a similar (but not identical) issue today. It was in a non-rated blitz event, and in this case the spectator was a player who had already finished his game in that round. Removing the interfering player from the event was an easy decision. But how to deal with the board situation was not. In the end I borrowed a ruling from Contract Bridge, where I forbade the 'lucky' player from playing the move in question, but allowing them to play any other move. They went on to win the game, so I guess no harm was done.

The other thought I had was to walk back 2 half moves, and allow the 'sinned against' player to change their previous move. I don't know if that helps, especially if the choice was forced, but it may be a way of penalise either side for the actions of a third.

Book fair Baby!

 Another Spring, another Lifeline Bookfair. This years event was very good, with lots of excellent books on various topics of interest. For the chess books, the number was small, but the quality was high. I grabbed 6 or 7 books, some for myself and some for others. There were even some recent opening books on offer, but based on the topic (QGD) I assume someone is rethinking their current opening choices.

Another topic of interest is programming books. There were more than a few up-to-date books (ie published in the last 3 years) as well as a nice section of what might be termed 'vintage' IT (eg "Programming the Z80")

If you are planning to attend (it runs tomorrow and  Sunday at EPIC, Canberra) their may be no chess books left. However if you are a poker player, or enjoy Contract Bridge, there are many many books to choose from.

It has been a long time

 While taking part in the 2025 Cairns Open, I began to wonder how long it had been since I played in an Australian weekend event. As the answer did not spring instantly to mind, it must have been quite a while. It turns out the last one I played was the 2018 ANU Open (a poor 2.5/6) , while the last event outside of Canberra was in 2016. 

At least for this event I didn't play too badly. Some poor decisions in time trouble aside, I generally played the right moves, ot at least followed the right plan. probably the best of my games was a nice attacking win with Black, using the Marshall Gambit.

Hariprakesh,Rahul - Press,Shaun [C89]
Cairns Open, 06.09.2025

Back in town

 I'm back from my trip to PNG, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Catching up with the chess organisers in Port Moresby was great fun, and important, and I'm pleased to say, things are on the move. 

There are a couple of goals for PMG chess in 2026. It is an Olympiad year and there is a big push to organise a Women's team (for the first time). A revamped national championship is on the cards, and hopefully a 2026 PNG Open will be organised around August/September. 

As for the non-chess part of the trip, it was also fun. It did coincide with the 50th anniversary of PNG Independence, and the city was full of activities and events. I did avoid the formal ceremonies, instead attending a function at the South Pacific Motor Club, as well as exploring the market and entertainment scene at Ela Beach. All in all I had a great time and am looking forward to get back their next year.

2025 Car Club Classic

 With the assistance of PNGCF President Tom McCoy, I ran a small rapidplay event in Port Moresby on Sunday. Despite the very short notice (24 hours) a good field of 24 players turned up to play. The venue was the South Pacific Motor Sports Club and provided excellent facilities for the event. As most players do not have ratings it was seeded based on volunteered chess.com ratings. As it turned out the estimates were pretty good, based on the finishing positions.

It was a 7 round event, with a time limit of G/10m. The winner was Victor Ahulo who finished on 6/7. In 2nd was Adrian Chamilou on 5.5, with Jireh Mileng, Liberty Joku and Nickson Lahui tied for 3rd on 5. Adrian was the best placed junior, while Liberty was the best female player.

The quality of chess was quite good, and most of the field would do quite well in an event like Street Chess (for a point of comparison). I even played a casual game against one of the local juniors, who had arrived too late for the event, and was lucky to escape with a draw.

All in all this is quite promising for upcoming events. The PNGCF plan to send players to the Oceania Youth Championship in Brisbane later this year, while potential teams for the 2026 Chess Olympiad are taking shape. With the large number of female players taking part in events, PNG should be able to enter a female team for the first time. 

Late night Street Chess

 Yesterday was my first full day in Port Morseby, and while I spent most of the day catching up with FIDE work, I did get out in the evening to play some chess. I was invited to play some games at Chess InDa Hood which is an outdoor chess meetup in Gerehu. A couple of tables were set up under a very bright street light, and around 12 players turned up to play.

The quality of chess was quite good (around 1600 or about the halfway seeding at Street Chess) and I spent most of my games fighting off attacks from gambit opening. I faced King's Gambit's, Albin Counter Gambits, Scotch Gambits and even in the more solid opening (Ruy Lopez and Quiet Italians) I still had to deal with some early h4 attacks. Tactically my opponents were pretty sharp, but I was able to survive due to better king safety and having more sound positions.

Tomorrow I be giving an Arbiters/Organisers seminar, with about 30 attendees already booked. The next step is to try and organise some longer events, with the aim of getting players ratings. 

In Moresby

 After 48 years away (no really) I'm back in Port Moresby (albeit for a short visit). I had a good catch up over dinner with some of the organisers from the PNG Chess Federation, and over the next few days I should be busy doing some arbiter/coaching/organiser seminars. I might even be able to visit my old school (St Josephs Boroko) and might even have to give a simul.

We are also looking at running a small event while I am here, with the goal of organising a bigger tournament next year, with the idea of starting to hold FIDE rated tournaments in the future. All in all things are looking up for PNG chess. 

2025 Great Barrier Reef Open

 Top seed GM Jacek Stopa finished 1st in the 2025 Great Barrier Reef Open, with a perfect 6/6. Although he was the clear favourite in the 47 player field, he still had to work hard in some games to collect maximum points. His Round 3 game against Miles Patterson was heading for a draw until Patterson relaxed at a crucial moment, while his final round win against second seed Riccardo Mandolini involved a tricky middle game position before resolving into a winning ending for Stopa.

 Mandolini was part of a group of players who tied for 2nd on 5/6. Unrated David Ball had a fantastic start to tournament chess reaching 5 points with a win over Miles Patterson, as well as beating CM David Castor earlier in the event. Dexter Newcombe was the third player on 5/6, submarining his way through the tournament, losing his 1st round but reeling off 5 straight wins, including a win over me in Round 5.

The Cairns Chess Club organised a great event, and were rewarded with a big turnout. It was pleasing to see a large number of local players take part, as well as a lot of players from North Queensland. Plans are already underway to run the event next year (at the same time) and I would highly recommend playing next year 

On the road to Port Moresby

 I am currently in Cairns, playing in the Great Barrier Reef Open. I'm off to a good start, being in a bunch of players who have started on 3/3. Of course tomorrow will be tougher, as I'm due to play the 2nd seed in the morning, and possibly the top seed (GM Stopa) towards the end of the event.

The 47 player events has been really well organised, with a good venue and a pretty relaxed playing schedule (60m+20s time limit with 3 rounds each day). Credit must go to the Cairms Chess Club, who are looking a building up numbers on the back of the current enthusiasm for OTB chess.

After this event I'm heading on to Port Moresby  for a week of tourism, and some chess. It is the 50th anniversary of PNG independence, and as I was present for the 1st Independence Day ceremony, I thought it would be nice to be there for the 50th.