In transit (again)

I am off to the 2018 Chess Olympiad in a few hours. I'll be travelling for about 30 hours before I get to Tbilisi, before heading to Batumi the following days. Updates during this time depend on wifi access at various airports, otherwise I will post in a day or two.

Back to base

After 2 moths away, Harry and I are finally back in Australia (although our luggage may not be). We seem to have missed the absolute worst of the summer, although it is forecast to be 38 degrees in Canberra, just in time for my return to Street Chess.
The trip back was quite good, aided by some good luck. For the Abu Dhabi leg, Harry and I ended up being upgraded to Business Class, which was a practice that I had assumed was almost extinct (as airlines often offer business class upgrades on an auction basis). This made what is normally the toughest part of the trip quite pleasant, as we were able to sleep for a lot of the trip.
Now that I'm back there is a lot of catching up to do. A couple of big events are coming up in the near future (ACT Championships, Dubbo and O2C Doeberl Cup), as well as some other chess activities (ACCQ, ACTJCL). And of course now the holiday is over, work starts again on Monday. But for now, some sleep, some writing and a lot of recovering.

The disorganised blogger

My posts have become a little erratic over the last week, mainly due to the necessity of getting organised for the 2016 Olympiad. This time I am attending neither as a player, or an administrator, but as the team captain for Papua New Guinea. Hopefully this gives me more time to actually cover the tournament (rather than watch it race by), although my captaining duties will take up a significant amount of time.
Before the Olympiad starts I am stopping over in Al Ain for the Asian Chess Federation  congress. This is a three day event (29th-31st August) with everyone moving onto Baku on the 4th. My travel starts tomorrow afternoon (27th) but hopefully I will have greater access to wifi than in my previous trips, and so will endevour to keep this blog chugging along.

Rise and shine campers

One piece of advice I constantly read about being successful is that successful people wake up 3 hours before they get to work. The idea is that this time is then spent planning/organising the day ahead, leaving more time to be productive.
Of late I have been trying this idea although the results have been mixed. In terms of this blog, the major change is that I don't always post just before (or after) midnight as I used to, instead leaving it until the early morning to write something. As it turns out this does not always work, as when I wake up I am not at my most productive.
So for now, the early rising is always better theory, has a mixed outcome at best.

And now a reply from the opposition

Just for a change of pace, here is a link to a post by some who does not like chess. Why I Hate Chess is an amusing take from a non chessplayer about why they do not like the game. While some of the complaints are factually wrong (no doubt for reasons of humour rather than ignorance), I can happily accept that there are things not to like about chess. In fact even the most passionate chess player could probably write a similar post (eg 1. Other chessplayers 2. I'm not getting better etc), although the reasons would obviously be different.
However it is worth reading in full, and then as an added bonus, checking out the contributions in the comments section!

A 'blogworthy' game

One of the juggling acts you have to perform when writing a blog is decide what is content worthy of publishing. It is a little easier writing a chess blog, as chess has a built in ranking system which attaches importance to players, tournaments or games, based on the ratings of the subjects. So news about the World Championship is going to be a big deal no matter what happens, but more local events have to be judged a little more closely.
This also goes for the games I publish on the blog. I usually try and publish at least one game a week, as the front page only keeps the last 7 articles posted. I try and keep the choice fairly broad but I do have 2 distinct biases. One is games from Super GM events and matches, especially from players I like (such as Aronian or Svidler). The other is of course my own games, as essentially this is a blog about what I find interesting in chess.
Apart from what I find myself, I also get helpful suggestions from chess playing friends. Often at Street Chess or the ANU Chess Club a game is finished with a suggestion to 'put it on your blog'. 'Bloggable' or 'blogworthy' are other adjectives attached to games in which the winner is particularly proud. Usually I need to independently confirm that the game is indeed publishable, although I will sacrifice quality for curiosity.
For today's game I am actually choosing one of my own, played on Saturday at Street Chess (G/15m). It was an opening that I usually am on the black side of (The Two Knights) but I decided to try it from the other side of the board. 8.Qf3 is unusual but sound, although 8. ... Rb8 is considered the best reply. The idea behind Nc4-a3 was to try and pick up the exchange, but it left the c pawn unprotected, allowing the tactical shot 15. Nc5 Black thought for quite a while trying to find a way out of the mess, but failed to find a escape route. She decided to resign at that point only to be met with the annoying 'I think I will put that on my blog'


Press,Shaun - Chibnall,Alana [C58]
Street Chess, 22.11.2014

Happy birthday, Gary Lane

In these modern, always connected to the internet times, there is no excuse for missing a birthday. Once you start using a calendar app on your phone/tablet/pc any social network you are connected to will happily remind you of the 4 or 5 friends/acquaintances/people you accidentally 'friended' on facebook who are having a birthday on any particular day.
It turns out that today's birthday boy is Gary Lane, the Australian (formerly English) IM. Gary fills an interesting niche in the chess world, being noted as more as chess playing author, rather than a professional who writes the occasional book.  That is not to overlook that he is still a very strong player on the Australian circuit, but his fame does rest with his books and columns.
One column he regularly writes is "Gary Lane's Agony Column" for Kingpin magazine. This is a kind of humorous antidote to the more serious "What do I do next?" kind of columns seen in other forums, although it should be noted that Gary himself writes such a column for Chess Cafe.
The latest column has just come out (the day before his birthday it seems) and contains the usual mix of satire, biting wit and bizarre positions. Hidden inside is some serious chess (usually in the form of a brilliant but overlooked combination) but the main focus seems to be taking the P.
So if you are looking for a break from serious chess study, I highly recommend having a look at Gary's Agony Column for a little light relief.

Not giving up the day job

I was a little surprised to receive a letter from google the other day, that wasn't the usual 'please advertise with us' snail mail spam. In fact it was the opposite. It instead said 'here, have some money' and was a my first payoff for the annoying ads I have on this blog. It wasn't a great amount (a little over $100) and the fact it has taken me 6 years of almost daily blogging to earn that small amount shows that this was never going to be a full time career.
But nonetheless, thank you for everyone who has visited this blog and clicked on the annoying adds down the side of the page. The next time I fill the car with petrol (bye bye $100) I will be thinking of you.

On the hunt for chess stuff

I'm still in travel mode, and am finding the change in time zones throwing me out. When I am at home (in Australia) I usually blog just before I go to bed a midnight, meaning most people read my posts in the morning. On the other side of the world (UK) I find that early morning blogging is easier, as I am still waking at around 6 am. So my posts are more about what I am going to do with the day, rather than what I have just done.
Today's travels should take me to the British Museum, and then on to Madame Tussauds. As we (myself and family) are doing most of travels on foot, the journey between to two will take us past the Chess & Bridge Shop in Baker Street. I last visited this shop 17 years ago (on my honeymoon), when it was located on Euston Rd. Harry and I will stick our heads in to see what was on offer, although we are under strict instructions not to spend to much!

Time to flee the country

I'm heading overseas in a few days (Wednesday to be exact). Unlike most of my recent trips it will (a) last longer than 3 days and (b) have not as much to do with chess. The main purpose of the trip is simply to have a holiday with the family.  Most of the trip will be spent in the UK, with a side trip to Paris. However their will be a detour to Estonia, to attend the 2013 FIDE Congress towards the end of the trip.
As with all my trips, I will try and keep this blog up to date, depending on internet access. Of course it may have less to do with chess over the next month, and function more as a travelogue, but if I see any good chess items on my travels I'll be sure to report them.

Early to bed, early to rise

As I'm feeling slightly under the weather I decided to test the theory that you get more work done early in the morning, rather than late at night. So I went to bed earlier than usual last night, quickly falling asleep courtesy of the English cricket teams 'solid' batting performance. Unfortunately the second part of the experiment failed to take place, as I woke up at the usual time, rather than any earlier.
So the net result is: One missed blog post from yesterday, no real work done so far (except for this message).

Very light blogging

Once again I've been sidetracked by other chess activities (this time some opening research), so I have very little to say this evening :(

Speaking of draws

Having just discussed the number of draws in the Zurich Chess Classic (although in all cases they were pretty exciting ones), GM Ian Rogers weighs in on the topic of *short* draws. He specifically discusses the final round of the Reykjavik Open, when the game on board 1 went 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 1/2-1/2. As is Ian's style he doesn't hold back, even giving fellow Chess Life blogger Greg Shahade some criticism.
As someone who as directed tournament which have had restrictions on when draw offers can be made, a legislative solution can sometimes be difficult (ie determined players can always find a way around the rules, and conclusively proving collusion is often difficult). I do like the approach that the Doeberl Cup currently uses (offering a potential reward for players who do not agree to short draws), but in the past I have also suggested another approach. Instead of defining the number of moves that must be played, instead specify the minimum number of minutes. That way spectators get a guaranteed viewing time, although there is no control over the quality of the game (Banning the Exchange Slav is probably a step too far).  My original proposal can be found here.

2012 Australian Player of the Year

Once again there were a number of worthy contenders for the Chessexpress Australian Player of the Year. Both Moulthun Ly and Max Illingworth lead the way for the younger brigade with good performances for Australia at the 2012 Olympiad. Anton Smirnov showed he is also likely to join them in the near futire with a win in the 2012 Australian Masters, while Brodie McClymont won a number of weekend events to confirm his obvious promise.
But I look back to the start of the year for a set of performances for this years winner. GM Darryl Johansen started off  by winning the Australian Championship for a record 6th time. He then followed this up with a win on tie-break in the 2012 Queenstown International, scoring 7.5/9 against a very strong field. He also won the 2012 Fiji International Open with a perfect 9/9.
So congratulations to GM Darryl Johansen for being the 2012 Chessexpress Player of the Year.


Jones,Gawain C B (2653) - Johansen,Darryl K (2403) [B21]
Queenstown Classic Queenstown (9.3), 23.01.2012

Some other Chessexpress's

When I set up this blog, my first thought was to call it '64 Squares'. But (IIRC) that name was already taken, so I chose 'Chessexpress' instead, as it contained one obvious tie-in (my surname), as well as a couple of others (eg the double meaning for 'express'). There was even an unintended bonus a couple of years later, when a Canberra Times sub-editor decided to break the title of the blog in 'ches' and 'sexpress' in an Ian Rogers chess column.
But it is kind of an obvious name, so it is no surprise that their are other 'Chessexpress' sites on the web. The one that I was aware of very early on was a chess retailer from the US, www.chessexpress.com. As far as I know they have no problem with the title of this blog, as we have co-existed for a number of years.
Oddly enough there is not one, but two Chessexpress websites in Canada. There is 'The Chess Express' which is a junior coaching organisation involving Hal Bond, who is a friend of mine from various Olympiads. There is also 'Chess Express Ratings' which is a commercial rating organisation in Canada. As far as I know the two are not connected.
And finally, there is even a chess event that carries the Chess Express name. It is the 'Trans Europe Chess Express' and fittingly it is organised by Deutsche Bahn AG (German Railways). This years event was held inside the Potsdam Railway station, and attracted a strong field including Karpov, Short, Timman and Huebner.

(NB I do not necessarily endorse any of the commercial sites listed in this post)

Writers block

I haven't been able to come up with a topic for this evenings blog post, so talk among yourselves for now.

(But if you do want a topic of discussion try - Is "amongst" really a word? Every time I try and use it, various spell checkers tell me it does not exist!)

Olympiad Super-Coach

Ever wanted to be an Olympiad Team captain? But didn't have the inside track your Federation? Well now your problems are over with Fantasy Chess Olympiad. Like similar 'Fantasy Football' competitions, you can select 2 teams of players (Open and Womens) for the upcoming Olympiad, aiming to score the highest number of points. Of course their are restrictions on who you can pick (one player per country on each team), as well as a scoring system that isn't just 1 1/2 or 0. I know the competition involving AFL is pretty popular over at www.ozchess.com.au so I would not be surprised if there is a big Australian entry into the comp. (NB For fairly obvious reasons I won't be entering!)
The competition is being organised in association with the Yorkshire Chess Association, who will also have their own blogger on the ground in Istanbul. PNG player Rupert Jones will be doing coverage of the event from the 'inside', and has already published his first article, describing how he got to the Olympiad (1986) in the first place.

I'm not sure how this works

There was a post on the Susan Polgar blog the other day which contained a list of the top 50 chess blogs. Chessexpress came in at no. 22 which kind of surprised me, as I thought I would be lucky to make the top 50 at all.
It turns out the list was compiled by the blogshares website, which is not a ranking site, but a kind of online trading game. Apparently this blog is valued at $34,000, but as blogshares points out, this is not real money. So for now I am a loss about how the whole thing works, although I really should read the FAQ. But it is kind of nice to be ranked so highly, even if I don't quite know why!

Almost home

Almost back in Canberra, with just an early morning flight from Melbourne to come. When I do get back, into into my normal rhythm, I will begin to post some more information from the RTRC meeting. I probably won't do it on this blog, as the subject matter is not to everyone's taste, but on my other blog. It will probably be a multi part extravaganza, as we did cover a lot of ground.

Light blogging

As I am travelling to (and from) Europe for the next 6 days, I expect only light blogging (depending on internet access). Hopefully I will be able to provide some updates from the FIDE RTRC meeting, as well as any other interesting places I get too.