Flaming hot chess

 The perils of outdoor chess are mainly weather related. Usually for a city like Canberra it is the cold weather that affects events like Street Chess, but just for a change, it was the heat that was the real issue today. With a top temperature of 41C (106F) I am pretty sure it was the hottest Street Chess on record. For me, just reading out the pairings was exhausting, in part because 40 players turned up! For the players, not only was the heat an issue, but failure to find shade also meant that the chess clocks screens would turn black (due to overheating of the liquid crystals). 

So well done for everyone who turned up and survived!

2026 Australian Junior - FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty wins title

 FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty is the new Australian Junior Champion winning with a score of 8/9. Tied for 2nd were CM Joel Leong and FM Yifei Hu on 6.5. Going into the final round he held a half point lead over Leong, but a loss for Leong and a win for Chakrabarty widened the gap at the top.

While some players were fighting for final placings, there were a number of other interesting games between players looking to improve there final score. Larry Cheng was involved in one such game albeit on the losing side. There were also some good games in the Under 16 event (won by CM Micah Young with 8.5/9!) which can be found on the tournaments Lichess link. 

Full results and links to replayable games from the Under 18 and 16 events can be found at the tournament website https://australianjuniorchesschampionship2026.org/

Cheng,Larry (1759) - Wang,Daniel [D05]
2026 Australian Championship Under 18 ye https://lichess.org/broadcast/ (9.4), 24.01.2026

2026 Australian Junior - Blitz and Problems

 Although the Australian Junior Chess Championship has a scheduled rest day, a lot of players do not use it for rest. Instead some (almost 100) spend the morning solving problems of various difficulties, and the traditional Problem Solving Competition. It is a very enjoyable event (I was a problem setter this year), but oddly, is probably the only in person problem solving competition in Australia. As I have yet to start helping with the marking process, but based on the number of players who took the full 2 hours to complete (or incomplete) the paper, it was certainly challenging.

In the afternoon there was the 2026 Australian Junior Blitz Championship. It was held in 2 sections (Under 18 and Under 12) and ran for 11 rounds. I was pleased to say there were zero disputes, with the players showing excellent sportsmanship throughout, allowing the tournament to run to schedule. FM Yifei Hu was the over all winner, but you can see all the results at https://www.vegaresults.com/event/4813

2026 Australian Junior

 After a gap of 11 years, the Australian Junior Chess Championship returns to Canberra. There are around 400 entries this year, across 12 sections. The Under 18 (Championship section) has 31 players, with FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty the top seed. Although the event runs for 9 days, only the older age groups play all days. Tomorrow sees the U110 and Under 8 sections also start, but these sections are played over 3 days (with a faster time control).

Event details can be found at https://australianjuniorchesschampionship2026.org/ with links to live boards and results (when the even starts)

2026 Australian Championship - 1 and done

 FM Yi Liu looks to have the 2026 Australian Championship sewn up, holding a 1 point lead going into the final round. The only player with a chance of catching him is CM Tedric Li who sits a point behind. Yi, who has won 9 of his 10 games, dispatched FM  Reyaansh Chakrabarty with some clever play in a double rook ending.

Chakrabarty,Reyaansh (2271) - Liu,Yi (2329) [C17]
Australian Chess Championship 2026 https://lichess.org/broadcast/ (10.1), 20.12.2025

The Avalanches

 Although the following game from the 2026 Australian Championship is pretty one sided, it is still interesting to look at. White got tangled up in the centre (do not open lines when behind in development is the relevant hint here), and was struggling from then on. Black maintained his advantage throughout, alternating between fending of simple mate threats, and rolling his pawns down the board. Eventually the black pawn on d2 proved the key to the winning combination, although White resigned before the pawn could promote.

Min,Ren (Alex) (2012) - Rodgers,Jack (2198) [A45]
Australian Chess Championship 2026 https://lichess.org/broadcast/ (8.15), 12.01.2026

Bananas

 Looking for an attacking opening against 1.d4 as Black. If you aren't confident enough to sacrifice a pawn in the opening with the Benko, you could always try it's slower cousin, The Benoni. Although White often gets up and running with a central pawn avalanche, if White gets it wrong, then Black often powers through.

Chang,Ethan (2052) - Testolin,Ryder (2238) [A56]
Australian Chess Championship 2026 https://lichess.org/broadcast/ (6.8), 09.01.2026