2024 World Championship Match

 The 2024 World Championship Match begins on the 23rd November in Singapore, although play doesn't start until the 25th. It is a 14 game match, with tie breaks at the end if required. I am heading over for the middle of the event (Games 7, 8, 9) , as a spectator/journalist. I also plan to cover the Singapore International Open event, which is running alongside the World Championship.

As for a predicted result, I am going to fall in with the majority and expect Gukesh to win. Ding is still well off his best form, while Gukesh looks to be highly motivated. The only way I can not see Gukesh winning is if Ding keeps the match even through the first 9 games, and then pressures Gukesh to find a win. Otherwise, if Gukesh gets out to an early lead, I'm not seeing how Ding can come back.

2024 Vikings Weekender - Final day

 The final 2 rounds of the 2024 Vikings Weekender delivered on the action, with a couple of upsets delivering a surprise(d) set of winners. IM Junta Ikeda took a half point lead going into the final day, but loss to Harry Press on the top board through the tournament wide open. Press overtook Ikeda at the top of the table, and going in to the final round, Ikeda, FM Fred Litchfield, Willis Lo and Daniel Wang were all tied on 4/5.

Despite having an advantage against FM Fred Litchfield in the final round, Press offered a draw which was quickly accepted. This moved Press to 5/6, but gave the following pack a chance to tie for 1st. Despite his best efforts Lo could only draw with Yifei Hu, leaving him tied for third. The real drama was being played out on board 2, where Ikeda was playing Daniel Wang. Knocking back a draw offer from Wang, Ikeda soon found himself in real trouble, and in the last game of the tournament to finish, lost his 2nd game in a row. This allowed Wang to join Press in first place, with both players winning the event for the 1st time.

The Minor (under 1600) was much more straightforward, with Max Windsor scoring a perfect 6/6. Nichloas Lee finished outright 2nd on 5, recovering from the loss of a piece against Padma Gyalpo, by finding a back rank mate combination. There was a big tie for 3rd place, with the performance of James Madoc being a standout.

Full results can be found at https://www.vegaresult.com/en/event.php?id=2996

Games from the top 4 boards from each round are at https://lichess.org/broadcast/2024-vikings-weekender/ZAZeeJdk

Press,Harry (2129) - Ikeda,Junta (2384) [C79]
2024 Vikings Weekender Canberra, Australia (5.1), 17.11.2024

2024 Vikings Weekender - Day 2

 The 2024 Vikings Weekender once again is following the regular script, with IM Junta Ikeda leading with 4 wins from 4 games. He defeated young NSW players Vu Nguyen and Yifei Hu in Rounds 3 and 4, and leads 3rd seed Harry Press by half a point. Press looked a little bit shaky in yesterdays early rounds (escaping with a draw against Oladoyin Fasakin), but finished the day with a crushing win over CM Hui Li. There is a large pack of players on 3 points, including 2nd seed FM Fred Litchfield and 17th seed Ryan Liu.

In the Under 1600 event, Max Windsor is on 4/4, leading unrated Axel Healy on 3.5. Windsor converted a slightly tricky QvN ending after Padma Gyalpo missed a saving check in a KvN v KvP ending. The following pack of players on 3/4 consists entirely of junior players, with the significant exception of CM Bill Egan, now well into his ninth decade on this earth.

The final 2 rounds are being played today, at 10:15am and 2:00 pm. Links to the event are

Pairings and Standings - https://www.vegaresult.com/en/event.php?id=2996

Live Games - https://lichess.org/broadcast/2024-vikings-weekender/ZAZeeJdk 

2024 Vikings Weekender - Day 1

 The 2024 Vikings Weekender saw a large turnout for this years event. Both sections reached the initial capacity 2 weeks ago, but fortunately extra space was found to let more players in.

Th Open section saw a good field of 37 players, represented by the usual grouping of Canberra's top players. IM Junta Ikeda is the top seed, and he started the tournament with a win over Larry Cheng. FM Fred Litchfield beat David Esposito on board 2, with Harry Press winning against Chayne Planiden on board 3. The top half didn't all have it their own way, with wins by Jerry Cheng and Thomas Eleutherios against higher rated opponents standing out. 

The Minor (Under 1600) had a slightly smaller field of 32 players. A couple of no-shows at the top did cause a problem, but otherwise most games went according to rating. The notable exceptions were wins by James Madoc and James Nelson, the latter playing his first OTB tournament game.

The results for the event can be found at https://www.vegaresult.com/en/event.php?id=2996 with coverage of the top 4 games at https://lichess.org/broadcast/2024-vikings-weekender/ZAZeeJdk

The Day of the Jackal

 One of my favourite movies of all time is The Day of the Jackal  (1973). So I thought I would catch the new series of the same name, with Eddie Redmayne playing the title character. 

Two episodes in, and there are already a couple of chess connections. In the first episode, it is revealed The Jackal is a chess set collector, in a scene where he confesses that if he got carried away, he would go bankrupt. The in the second episode, he arranges a meeting, which it turns out was filmed at Paris Court in Budapest (masquerading as Munich). This was also the filming location for a key scene in another of my favourite films, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", and I made sure I visited while in Budapest for the Chess Olympiad. 

Favoured Country Status

 Sometimes we have a favourite opponent (or 'customer') who we invariably do well against. Or an opponent we just enjoy playing. 

Once I started playing in chess olympiads, I also found that against certain countries I did well against. On the other hand I suspect there were players who found Papua New Guinea an enjoyable pairing, and not just from recent history.

As mentioned previously I played a tournament in Appletreewick (on the Yorkshire Moors). I was beaten in the qualifying stage by Colm Barry, and again in the final.  He mentioned that he had represented Ireland at chess olympiads in the 1980's and a little research turned up the fact that I wasn't the only PNG player he enjoyed beating! Here is a game from the the 1982 Chess Olympiad, where PNG meat Ireland in the second round

Markov,Joseph - Barry,Colm (2220) [B07]
Luzern ol (Men) Luzern (2), 31.10.1982

I have books (for sale)

 I am always on the look out for new chess experience, and selling chess books is a new one I am looking into. I recently acquired some chess books (quite a lot actually) and am now selling them off. While I am still in the process of setting up the entire catalogue, you can get a sneak peek at https://street-chess-canberra.square.site/s/shop Everything is at a fixed price of $20 per book, although I do offer discounts if 3 or more books are purchased. 

One slight obstacle is getting the website set up, as books keep appearing and disappearing from the catalogue. Nonetheless I should have everything updated by the end of the week!