2024 ACT Rapidplay Championship - Press and Kethro tie for 1st

 The 2024 ACT Rapidplay Championship ended in a tie for 1st between Harry Press and FM Michael Kethro. The 7 round event attracted a big field of 58 players, with the Big 3 of Street Chess (Press, Kethro and FM Fred Litchfield) all taking part. Press started with 4/4 before drawing with Kethro (on 3.5) in round 5. Round 7 saw Press draw with the always solid CM Hui Li, while Kethro won against Willis Lo, leaving Press and Kethro tied on 6/7. Tied for third on 5.5 were Malik Amer and Thomas Gatzen-O'Keefe. Gatzen-O'Keefe played an extreme for of the swiss gambit, going LDWWWWW in the event.

Olamide Fasakin picked up the Under 1800 prize, while newcomer Ajo Varghese won the Under 1300. Masaki Horikawa won the best junior prize. 

ACT Rapid Championship

 It is very late notice, but the 2024 AVT Rapid Championship is on tomorrow (21 December). It is being held at King O'Malley's, City Walk, Canberra City, starting at 11am. Entry is $10 ($5 for juniors), and is a 7 round swiss with a time limit of G/15m

Plenty of fun and plenty of prizes to be had.

Forace's Legacy

 The end of the Ding v Gukesh World Championship match elicited  a number of comments concerning possible reasons for Ding's error, but trying to simplify when behind on material  isn't unprecedented. In local Canberra circles doing so even has a name. It is known as Forace's Legacy, discovered by, and named after, local player Lee Forace.

It apparently came about during an analysis session many years ago, involving a number of (then) junior players. In a position where one side was behind on material, Lee suggested a move that involved the weaker side swapping off a piece. When the other players looked confused,  Lee asked 'what's wrong?'. The reply came back 'you don't exchange when behind on material'.

Now like most chess rules, there are exceptions, as shown in this years World Championship. Exchanging to reach a fortress, or going into a drawn ending a pawn (or even a piece) down are well known motif's. But these are special cases, and in general keeping pieces on the board is normally preferable when behind. However, I will also suggest that blindly exchanging pieces when you are ahead on material is not always the best strategy either.

I declare a number war

 The 2024 World Chess Championship is barely over and already people are finding ways to argue about it. The most prominent one is the number of 'Official Champions' although a few silly arguments have also popped up.

The cause of the argument about who is an 'Official" champion started with the claim the Gukesh is the youngest World Champion in history. A number of people pointed out that Ruslan Ponomariov won the 2002 FIDE World Championship at a slightly younger age, meaning that Gukesh was not actually the youngest. This of course then devolved into a debate whether these events could be considered proper World Championships.

Normally it would be assumed that FIDE itself would have the final say in this, but it appears this is not the case. While they recognise their own version of the World Championship, they also seem to omit the winners of these events (Khalifman, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov and Topolov) in their numbering of world champions. This does make sense if the criteria is "Undisputed or lineal" World Champions, although at the time of the split between Championships, FIDE certainly never made that argument.

BTW if you think that finding the answer at place like Wikipedia might help, I would suggest you wait a few weeks. There seems to be an edit war going on on the World Championship page, which as a result has restrictions on who can actually now edit the page.

Do you deface chess books?

 When I trawl through pile of 2nd hand chess books, I often see that previous owners have underlines certain moves or written notes in the margins (I have found a forced win for White in the starting position, but this margin is too small to write he proof ...). 

At first this horrified me, but now I am starting to see that this is sometimes acceptable. I am working through some coaching books, and to get full value, I often think I should highlight unsuggested alternatives, or record analysis for later checking. While this would obviously reduce the quality of the book, it would probably improve my understanding of the text.

However, there is one problem. When I tried to do this, my hand refused to put pencil to paper! So for now my books remain unsullied, at least until I can overcome the psychological road block that stands in front of me.

2024 World Chess Championship - Tales of the unexpected

 In a match full of twists and turns, the 2024 World Chess Championship ended in the most unexpected way. Game 14 was the final game played at long time controls, and with the match tied 6.5-6.5, a win for either player would secure the title, and avoid a playoff at faster time controls. 

For almost the entire game the evaluation remained fairly equal, even after Ding chose to go into an ending a pawn down. Being a pawn up, Gukesh saw no risk in playing on, but by this stage most of the online chatter had turned to finding out what time the playoff games started after this game had finished. 

But on move 55, Ding offered a trade of rooks, which Gukesh gratefully accepted. Due to the poor placement of Ding's bishop (on a8), Gukesh could immediately trade off into a winning king and pawn ending. When I saw the position I first assumed that either (a) the game was over and extra moves were being analysed or (b) Ding had a stalemate/fortress trick that the engines did not understand. Neither assumption was correct, and the sad truth was that Ding had just played one of the most consequential blunders in World Championship history.

The final position was winning for Black, although there is only one path to victory (the f pawn has to be sacrificed at the right moment). Ding decided not to test Gukesh's elementary endgame knowledge, resigning instead.

So Gukesh becomes the youngest World Champion in history, beating Kasparov's record. It caps a remarkable run for Gukesh, winning both the Candidates tournament and the World Championship at his first attempts. 

For Ding, this loss must be a heartbreaker, and where he goes with his chess from here remains to be seen. Possibly the burden of being a World Champion has been holding him back, and in the long term, losing the match may be a net benefit.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [A08]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (14), 12.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - A tougher game than expected

 Game 13 of the 2024 World Chess Championship turned out to be tougher than many predicted. With decisive results in the previous 2 games, I for one expected that both players would try not to take too many risks so close to the end of the match, Instead another sharp game was served up, and again Ding found himself scrambling to defend a worse position.

Gukesh tried another line against the French, and this time emerged with a small opening advantage. It was Ding's turn to play the position defensively, which Gukesh tried to exploit. However, at crucial moments both players found '2nd best' moves, which changed the evaluation of the position. Probably the most consequential choice was around move 30, where Ding;s best move was to give up the Queen for 2 rooks and hold the draw, Instead he kept the queen, which gave Gukesh a chance to increase his control of the central files. But he failed to choose the best line, and despite some small tactical threats, a fairly equal ending was reached soon after move 40. But equal does no mean drawn, and Gukesh pushed for another 20 odd moves before a draw was agreed to.

The last round is tonight (not tomorrow as I suggested the other day). Having got all my predictions for the match wrong so far, I simply suggest juts tuning in to watch it from 8pm Canberra time.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [C11]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (13), 11.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Boy, that escalated quickly

 It seems like all my predictions for this match have been well off the mark. While I was at the match (for games 7,8,9) I predicted that I would see at least one decisive game, which I did not. And having seen yesterdays game (and game ending blunder) I was sure Gukesh was ready to steamroll Ding. He did not.

Instead, Ding recovered from yesterdays disaster with a comprehensive win in Game 12. As White, Ding held a slight edge throughout the opening (basically more space), but around move 16 Gukesh started to make some poor choices. This allowed Ding to target weak points in Gukesh's position and get in the important d4 push in. After that it seemed like Gukesh didn't have a plan to defend the position, and Ding just built up a dominating position. By the end it was so overwhelming that he could afford to miss the strongest computer choices (26.Na7) and still cruise to victory.

So an amazing comeback for Ding, with the match now tied at 6-6. Another rest day today (and one after game 13), so at least Gukesh will have time to recover.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [A13]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (12), 09.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Checks and captures

 There is a famous story concerning Boris Spassky (which I have previously posted). about blunders coming in pairs. In Game 11 of the World Chess Championship showed this to be true.

Gukesh chose an opening that lead to an unbalanced position (a reverse Blumenfeld), but the main effect was that both players used up a lot of time in the opening. White pushed his b pawn all the way to b6, which was probably a sacrifice intended to open the b file for White's rooks. As both players began to run short of time, Gukesh found a knight manoeuvrer, involving Nb1-a3-c2-a1-b3-c5, the last move which was in response to a poor move by Ding ( 26 ... e6). He could have won back his pawn with a little tactic (28.Nxb7) but chose to swing his rook to the b file. Ding could have closed of the file with 28 ... Nb4, but to paraphrase Spassky, a small mistake is often followed by a bigger one.  

Failing to follow the advice of 'look at all checks and captures', Ding hurriedly played 28 ... Qc8?? and resigned after 29.Qxc6 was played. 

A real tragedy for Ding,  and a real boost for Gukesh. Not only does he hold a 1 point lead with 3 games left to play, the effect of such a blunder on Ding may destroy his confidence for the rest of the match.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [A09]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (11), 08.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - A familiar refrain

 One of the demands that Bobby Fischer made when World Chess Champion was that future title matches be determined by number of wins, rather than final score. He envisaged a situation where one player took an early lead and then the remaining games were all drawn. This idea was accepted by FIDE, at least up until the first Karpov v Kasparov match. 

In some ways, what Fischer feared happening has been evident for a while now. With shorter matches for the title, the number of 'risk free' draws has significantly increased. Combine this with much better opening preparation, and a lot of games see players hoping for a small edge out of the opening, and if that does not happen, then playing solid chess until a draw can be agreed.

Game 10 of the current match was very much like this. The only imbalance in the position was doubled f pawns for Black, but given the high level of defensive technique these days, there was no hope of a Rubenstein type ending masterclass from Ding, and the game ended in a draw at move 36.

 

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [D02]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (10), 07.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Late Middlegame Blues

 Game 9 of the 2024 World Chess Championship did not reach any great heights. After the excitement of the previous two days, this game saw both players try to avoid any risky positions to create winning chances. The only real point of interest was the tactical interplay around move 20, which saw Gukesh gain a passed pawn on the c file, but Ding always had this under control. The two players clearly understood that there was nothing more in the position, but entertained the spectators by quickly playing out an ending that finished with KvK.

Today is a rest day, which also coincides with me heading home from Singapore. It was an interesting experience being onsite for 3 of the games, as well as watching the concurrent Singapore International Open. My prediction that Ding's winning chances improve the longer he goes without falling behind still stands. Nonetheless I will be surprised if it goes to a playoff, because if it does, then I would tip Gukesh to prevail.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [E11]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (9), 5.12.2024

2024 Singapore International Open - GM norm for Winkelman

 The 2024 Singapore International Open was won by GM Shanglei Lu (China), with 7.5/9.  But the outstanding result (from an Australian point of view) was FM Albert Winkelman finishing tied for 2nd on 7/9. He started the event seeded 91st, and due to the accelerated pairings, faced a GM in round 1. Winning that game, and then drawing his next game with an IM, set him up for a good run through the event. He wrapped up the IM norm (his 2nd) with a round to spare, but a final round win over GM Vahap Sanal (Turkey), moved up up to 7 points. He won his last 4 games, and played a field that included 4 GM's, 2 IM's and an FM. He finished in 6th place on tie-break, taking home what is probably the biggest prize of his chess career.

 

Sanal, Vahap - Winkelman, Albert [D02]
2024 Singapore International Open (9), 5.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Gukesh escapes

 Game 8 of the 2024 World Chess Championship was another exciting affair, with Ding going close to winning, and Gukesh finding the save. The first critical moment came on move 22, when Gukesh, as black, played 22 ... b5. At the press conference after the game, he thought he was almost winning in the position, and Ding seemed to be in a lot of trouble.  Ding quickly decided to give up the a pawn a few moves later, but confessed that had been based in a miscalculation! However he did get a lot of piece play for the pawn, and after he found 28.Qe1! he was back in the game. So much so, that a few moves later he won an exchange for a pawn, and had all the winning chances. In the rush to time control the position was repeated (to save time on the clock), but surprisingly it was Gukesh who varied. The decision by Ding to eliminate one of Gukesh's dangerous queenside pawns seemed sensible, but with accurate play the game ended in a draw.

The score after 8 games is now 4-4. Each draw puts pressure on Gukesh 'to do something', although if the match goes to tie-breaks, youth may be a factor. Certainly Ding is looking a lot more energetic than in recent months (at the board at least), and the fact he has avoided the fate that a lot of pundits predicted (including myself), may give him confidence going into the last 6 games.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [A21]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (8), 4.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - What a save

 The 7th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship was probably the most exciting game so far. Both players seemed committed to keeping the game unbalanced, which lead to some exciting play, especially before the first time control.

Around move 20 Ding went to win the white a pawn, at the risk of getting his queen shut off from the rest of the board. This gave Gukesh a chance for a clear advantage, but before he cashed in he repeated the position. This decision caused a groan from the audience in the playing hall, but when Gukesh played 29.Rxb5, the mood was somewhat lightened. When Gukesh played 30.Qf4 it looked as if the game was all over, but then Ding played a number of saving moves with both players short of time, and when move 40  was reached (for White), it seemed another draw was on the board. However move 40 for Black was an error, and within a few moves Gukesh was almost certainly winning. But just as quickly as the win appeared, it disappeared again, with Gukesh failing to find the winning line. Although the position was still difficult to play, Ding found the right moves and a draw was reached on move 72.

A real let off for Ding, and the fact that the match is still tied, is putting more pressure on Gukesh. Having predicted that this game would be drawn (to a few people in the media centre), I think there will be a decisive result in one of the next 2 games. The only problem is I am not sure who will achieve it!

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [D78]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (7), 3.12.2024

A different SIO

 Running alongside the 2024 World Championship match is the 2024 Singapore International Open (SIO). Taking advantage of the interest generated by the WCC, the SIO has attracted over 500 players across both sections. The top section is restricted to players over 1800, and used accelerated pairings to improve the norm chances of the players in the top half.

Today is the 2nd double round day of the tournament, with 6 games being played so far, and the 7th in progress as I type this. Almost 40 Australian players are playing across both events, with at least 3 Canberra players among that group.

One of the players in the lead of the Open is GM Zong Yuan Zhao. He is on 5/6, with 4 wins and 2 draws. In today's morning round he beat 14th seed GM Rinat Jumbayev in a game that swung back and forth. He is now on board 3 against 25th seed IM Jan Klimkowski.

Other Australians close to lead include IM James Morris, FM Albert Winkelman, and CM Ben Leong (all on 4/6). Winkelman is quite close to an IM norm based on his current results, although he has attributed this result to his ability in defending a run of bad positions. If he wins his game today, then he will probably only need 1/2 for a norm from this event.

2024 World Chess Championship - A view from the ground

 I had hoped to be watching game 6 of the 2024 World Championship upon my arrival in Singapore last night (or at least the last few moves). But I was grounded in Melbourne by a delayed connection* and so watched the entire game in the terminal, waiting for a 3:25am departure.

Although the game was drawn (the third in a row), there seemed to be a bit more of a fight in this one. Although the minor pieces went by move 20, there was enough play in the major piece ending to keep the spectators engaged. Ding had a small edge (at least according to various engines), but in a practical sense, it might have not been enough to convert, Nonetheless both players tried a few ideas (eg h4-h5 by Ding), before a draw by repetition occurred.

Today is a rest day (and I am typing this in a deserted Media Centre), with Round 7 tomorrow. Along side the World Championship is the 2024 Singapore Open, with a large number of Australian players taking part. GM Zong Yuan Zhao is one of the tournament leaders, and is being featured on the DGT boards. The games can be found at https://lichess.org/broadcast/singapore-international-open-2024/classical-round-5/rpedgvD7#boards

(*The airline concerned starts with a Q and ends with WDGAF)

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783)[A45]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (6), 1.12.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Boy, that de-escalated quickly

 The 5th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship has just ended in a draw, but for many spectators, it was somewhat of an anti-climax. Chances of a decisive result started off close to zero after Gukesh played the Exchange Variation against Ding's French Defence, but things got spicy when Gukesh recaptured the wrong way on move 23. Given the speed of Ding's reply it looked as though he realised Gukesh had made a slight mistake, and he could start to push for a win. But instead of doing so, Ding seemed convinced the position was still equal and steered the game towards a drawn opposite coloured bishop eneding.

So after 5 games it is 2.5-2.5. Ding's strategy of nullifying Gukesh's opening prep with some offbeat opening choices seems to be paying off, but apart from game 1, he doesn't seem to be pushing for more than equality. He at least enjoys having White tomorrow, which may encourage him to be a little more aggressive.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [C01]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (5), 30.11.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Taking it easy

 The 4th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship ended in a fairly pedestrian draw, no doubt satisfying both players match strategies. Taking place immediately after yesterdays rest day, the position never ventured very far from equality, despite White's interesting opening idea of an early exchange of dark squared bishops. The only point of excitement (at least for online viewers) was whether Ding might play 29.Qc3?? (which loses to 29 ... Re1+). Once that did not happen, it was just a case of reaching the first time control before shaking hands.

The score now stands at 2-2, with 10 games still left to be played. Game 5 and 6 are being played over the weekend, with another rest day on Monday.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [A06]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (4), 29.11.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - Gukesh fights back

 The 2024 World Chess Championship is tied 1.5-1.5, after Gukesh scored a win in round 3. World Champion Ding Liren chose a sharp line in the Queens Gambit (as Black), but chose a variation that was known to be somewhat risky. Posting his bishop on c2 (to threaten the pawn on b3) was a brave choice, but the constant threat of the bishop being trapped forced Ding to make a number of concessions. Eventually he reached a position where is miscalculated, resulting in having to give up the bishop for 2 pawns. This proved to be insufficient, and he lost on time in a losing position.

Tomorrow is a rest day, giving both players a chance to asses their match strategies. However, the odds now move back in Gukesh;s favour, as he has overcome the hiccup that was round 1, and now has some momentum behind him.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [D02]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (3), 27.11.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - sometimes a draw is all you get

 The 2nd game of the 2024 World Chess Championship has ended in a draw by repetition. With the regulations forbidding draw offers before move 40, the players used the old standby of repeating the position instead. Ding maintains his 1 point lead after this game, although tomorrow might be the chance for Gukesh to even the score, as he has the white pieces.

Unlike yesterdays game, I was not able to watch the game from start to finish. I was involved in my own club game, which somewhat fittingly also finished in a draw. So all I can do is present the game here sans comments.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [C50]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (2), 26.11.2024

2024 World Chess Championship - all endgames are winning

 Defending World Champion Ding Liren has started the defence of his title with a win in Game 1. Such a win came as a real surprise to most (including me), but Ding recovered from a cramped opening position to dominate the board in the middlegame. Part of his plan was to push the a pawn down to a3, which meant that Gukesh had to be very careful about any potential queenless endings. Despite have some tactical tricks, Gukesh wasn't able to find a way to attack Ding's king, which remained in the centre for a lot of the game. 

Not only does this give Ding a 1-0 lead in the match, it no doubt upsets predictions for the final result, as well as potentially changing how Gukesh approaches the next few game. Following the  Russian antidote for a loss (draw the next game) is probably advisable, especially as Gukesh would then have white in game 3. On the other hand, Ding can approach the next few games with confidence, recognising that he held off Gukesh in a position that did not start of well for him.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [C11]
FIDE World Championship 2024 Singapore, Singapore (1.1), 25.11.2024

Should I try Bluesky?

 I am in the process of re-tooling my social media choices. One reason is that when I mentioned that Street Chess has a Facebook page, I got a 'no one uses facebook' response from a few people. The other is that I stopped using Twitter long ago, in part due to having the account hacked. And as you can see, the panel to the right of this blog is evidence of that.

So, is Bluesky a better choice, or am I just moving from one swamp to another?

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! 

Losing a pawn?

 The Ponziani can be a tricky opening for Black to face, as there are a number of lines where White wins a pawn in the opening. However, if Black treats it like a gambit, then maybe the loss of the pawn isn't as bad as it looks.

Sidney,Will (1879) - Arnott,Jonathan W (2082) [C44]
39th European Chess Club Cup Hotel Zepter, Vrnjacka Banja (6.5), 25.10.2024

Chess in da hood

 Grassroots chess in Papua New Guinea is really taking off at the moment. The visit by GM Nigel Short last year was the impetus for the formation of a number of clubs in Port Moresby, and the involvement of new administrators and organisers has seen a real boom in the number of events and players.

Here is a short news story covering recent developments

The Farmer

 I normally avoid talking about my QC work on this blog, mainly because this is not the forum for official discussions or press releases. However, there are times when internal discussions are of a less 'classified; nature, and are of sufficient interest to share.

At the moment a discussion concerning the 'farming' of rating points from events (blitz and rapid mainly) is ongoing. As part of this, I've proposed a definition of 'farming'

It is when a player does the following

(1) Plays a minimum of 5 games in an event

(2) Plays  66% of opponents who are rated 400 points below them

(3) Scores 100% against these opponents

(4) and does not lose any games against the remaining players (wins or draws are OK)

Forfeit wins, byes and default losses do not count

Does this make sense, or is there a better definition?

Who shaves the barber?

 During a tournament game, spectators are not allowed to interfere. They cannot point out illegal moves, alert players to flag-fall, or remind players to press their clocks. If they notice an illegality, they instead can inform the tournament arbiter of what they have seen, and allow the arbiter to take the appropriate action.

So what happens if a spectator sees an illegal move played by a "playing" arbiter, and the illegality isn't noticed/claimed by the opponent? 

Castling very short

 I've only been back two and a half days, and I have already been the arbiter at 2 events. Yesterday was my normal Street Chess event, while today was the ACTJCL Spring Rapid.

As it was a junior event (with some new players), I was trying to keep a close eye on the games, in case anything weird happened. So when I wandered past a game where it was still in the opening, and the White King was on f1 and the White Rook was on e1, I began to suspect something had gone wrong. However the two players seemed unconcerned (despite the rook on e1 pinning a piece to the Black King) so I waited until the end of the game to check what had happened.

It turned out I as right not to involve myself, as the game actually began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 Qd4 6.Nf3 Qxe4+ 7.Qe2 Qxe2+ 8.Kxe2 Nf6 9.Re1 Be7 10.Kf1 , which matched the position I saw

Sweet home Amaroo

 I am now back in Canberra, and looking forward to running Street Chess tomorrow. The 3 months away certainly had a number of highlights, but to spend the next 3 weeks writing them on this blog would be a little boring. Nonetheless, if you run across me in person, I'm always happy to share a story or two.

Topics may or may not include:

• Sharing a flight to Warsaw with Magnus Carlsen and Hans Neimann
• Running into Hikaru Nakamura and Kris Littlejohn at a London railway station
• Making around 240 chess players very happy at one time
• Making 1 FIDE President unhappy at another time
• Being asked 'Did you used to be a FIDE Master?'
• How I thought I was going to be murdered 'Jonathan Creek' style?
•   How I made an elderly lady's day when discussing Australian immigration policy
• Why there are teeth marks at St Martins Theatre
• How to win $1000 writing about chess

The end of the tour

 After 3 months away from Australia, it is time to head home. Most of my chess activity was related to being an arbiter, as I worked on or ran 5 events over the last 3 months. However I did squeeze in some actual games, playing both tournament and casual chess as I went.

If my memory hasn't failed me I played 18 tournament games during my time away. I managed to win 8, draw 7, and lose 3. I probably played another 10 or so casual games, where I think I won 5 and drew 5. So while not on the same scale as Capablanca's first tour of Europe, I was happy with the results I achieved.

Overall I spent around 30 of the 90 days away engaged chess activities, most of them as a tournament arbiter. While working at the Olympiad was the centerpiece of the trip, playing in the event at Appletreewick was definitely the highlight as a player.

After I get back, I will be straight back into arbiting and playing, with Street Chess this coming Saturday the first event on the calendar.

Stroud Rapidplay

 As I am coming to end of 3 months away from Australia, I thought I would get a little bit more chess in.

Today's event was the Stroud Rapid, played in of all places, Stroud (UK). It was a single section event played with a time limit of 15m+5s. There were around 56 players taking part, and it was a 6 round tournament.

I was seeded 11th in the event, and played to about my seeding, at list in terms of finishing position. In terms of opponents, it was a slightly different story, as all my opponents were rated below me. I started off with a draw and a win, but 3 more draws followed, as I was unable to grind out wins from pretty equal positions. A final round win in a dynamic position lifted me to 4/6. which was enough for a tie for 7th.

The tournament was well run, and played in a pretty relaxed manner. The time control meant there was around and hour between rounds, and with a lunch break thrown in, went for around six and a half hours. Interestingly, the prize structure was pretty flat, with 90 pounds for first, but a lot of 30 pound rating prizes.

If you want to see the final standings you can do so at https://chess-results.com/tnr986767.aspx?lan=1

Road tripping

 Absolutely nothing to do with chess.

I had a great time yesterday taking a road trip with my brother and my niece up to Liverpool to visit the Cavern Club, Strawberry Fields, St Peter's Church Woolton, and various other locations related to the early years of The Beatles.

The weather was dismal, and it was tempting to rush into the barbers shop at the top of Penny Lane, but I resisted the urge to do something so cliched!

A win for the team

 Quite unexpectedly I was called up for a league match in the Woodhouse Cup (Yorkshire) today. One of the reasons it was unexpected as I was enjoying my holiday in London, and the venue was Harrogate which is a good 3 hours by train away.

Nonetheless I fronted up for Leeds, against the home team, for a match which was to be played over 8 boards. I landed on board 6, although my opponent was rated about the same as me. In the end we were the last to finish, and I recorded the only win form Leeds. It was a tough day our for the rest of the team, as we went down 1.5-6.5. 

My game was typical of the tough English chess I've come across in previous visits, and I had to work hard for the win. I thought I was better for most of the game, but one poor move threw the result into doubt, although in mutual time trouble, my opponent made one poor move which allowed me to set up a mating attack. I would like to show the game, but the weird time limit of G/110m+10s meant that the last 30 moves are missing. I have attempted to reconstruct them (to find the numerous missed mates) but I have been unsuccessful.

The spectator experience

 Watching live chess normally involves just wandering up to a board and standing next to it for a while. That of course is most common in weekend or casual events. It is a bit harder to have a similar experience when watching the worlds top players.

In the case of the Global Chess League, spectators could follow the games from the stands, while watching the moves displayed on a screen hanging from the roof. Unfortunately in both cases, if you were seated too far back it was a little harder to follow the action. The ban on phone usage during the round, as sensible as it was, meant you couldn't follow the moves on a personal device, which might have been better. 

Despite this I was able to follow enough of the action with my aging eyes to at least get a feel for what was happening. Fortunately the top boards were closer to the spectators so I was able to witness games such as this.

Anand, Viswanathan v Firouzja, Alireza
2024 Global Chess League

2024 Vikings Weekender

 An early call for entries for the 2024 Vikings Weekender. One of three major Canberra weekend events, this years tournament will be from the 15th to17th November at the Vikings Club Erindale. The complete details are

15th to 17th November 2024
6 round FIDE Rated Swiss*
Vikings Club, Erindale, ACT
Time control: 60m + 30s

Open and Under 1600 sections (Both FIDE Rated)
Round 1: Fri 7:00pm Round 2: Sat 10:15am Round 2: Sat 2:15pm Round 4: Sat 6:15pm Round 5: Sun 10:15am Round 6:Sun 2:15pm

1st Prize Open $1000, 1st Prize Minor $500 (All other prizes dependent upon entries)

Entry fee: $65 ($45 Junior/Concession) GM, IM, WGM, WIM free

Maximum of 60 players - Max 24 players in Open, Max 36 players in Under 1600

Erindale Vikings is a Licenced club.  Players under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult at all times in the upstairs gaming and bar areas.  Please also note that bar/meals service will not be available until 11am.

Online booking: https://www.trybooking.com/CWDSG

Lost skills

 One of the 'highlights' of Day 2 of the Global Chess League were a couple of games decided by time scrambles. With no increment for the games (G/20m being the time limit), flagging the opponent was part of the game strategy. This was combined with pieces being knocked over, players 'pre-moving' and the onsite spectators not being sure exactly what happened at the end. Online comments were generally negative, with a number of posters arguing that this wasn't 'real' chess. But I would argue that the problem isn't the format, but the age of the players.

Since the late 1990's, most chess has been played with increments, and this isn't a bad thing. But on the other hand, chess prior to that did not involve increments, and players just coped with this. Certainly the arbiters had to work a lot harder, but at the same time, the players also knew what the process was. In fact I still organise sudden death blitz and rapid events, and by and large, every (a) knows the process concerning illegal moves and positions and (b) accepts the outcome. So much so, that when it has been suggested we change to increments at Street Chess (13m+2s) this has rejected by the majority of regular players, on the well grounded reasoning of 'where is the fun in that'

Global Chess League 2

 I took the opportunity to drop into the Global Chess League event, which is currently being held in London. As I had no official role in the event, I donned my invisible tourist hat, and watched the action from the spectator gallery.

Borrowing heavily from T20 cricket (both in format and coverage) the event has a couple of interesting rules. Each team plays the other teams twice. However the colour for the first match is decided by coin toss, and then reversed for the return match. All gamed for a team are played with the same colour during the match (unlike the Olympiad), and wins with black are worth 4 points, while winning with white earns 3 points (1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss). To win a match a team just has to score more game points. And finally, there is no increment, with the time limit being G/20m.

This last point was particularly important when the Triveni Kings beat the Alpine Pipers where the games on the tops boards were decided by the Alpine players losing on time.

There are a number of other events alongside the main show, including changes to play GM's in blits, and take part in impromptu simuls. I witnessed one of these, which had the most unusual format of a clock tandem simul (G/5m!) across 6 boards. Even the GM's (including Gawain Jones) thought end in disaster, but in the end strength won out with a 6-0 win for the GM's

Zenon Franco Ocampos

 The well known author and GM Zenon Franco Ocampos has passed way at the age of 68. For a long time he was the No. 1 player from Paraguay, and there only GM. Although I first came across him as the author of some high quality chess books, I later discovered his exploits as a player (especially at Olympiads) were equally impressive.

But it was at one Olympiad he did have a remarkable escape. Papua New Guinea were paired against Paraguay in round 1 of the Dresden Olympiad (2008). On Board 1 Franco misplayed the opening an was soon down a rook against Stuart Fancy. Even after recovering a piece he was still in a position where he would have resigned against a higher rated opponent. But luck was on his side after Fancy donated back a rook to a bishop fork, giving Paraguay their expected point.

Fancy, Stuart vs Zenon Franco Ocampos
2008 Chess Olympiad, Round 1, 2008

The joy of train travel

 Post Olympiad I've been traveling back towards the UK via train. Although I have been to Europe plenty of times (for various chess olympiads and meetings), I haven't taken a proper holiday in Europe. So with that in mind, I decided to extend my stay for another month.

The itinerary was Budapest-Vienna-Prague-Berlin-Amsterdam. Each trip was by train, with each journey being longer than the previous one. For example, it is only around 2 hours between Budapest and Vienna, while my trip from Berlin to Amsterdam (today) took almost 12 hours from hotel to hotel!

Traveling by train in Europe is certainly more relaxed than flying. There is less hassle when boarding the train, and you get a better view from the windows. On the other hand it is certainly more chaotic, and often you are left on your own to work out where you need to be.

Today's journey involved changing trains 3 times, and a late arrival meant a missed connection. One of the changes was when we were told that the train we were on was being split in half at the next station, and I found myself in the wrong half. It turned out that almost everyone else was in the same predicament, as the platform was filled with two mobs of people heading in opposite directions, trying to find a seat on the right carriage.

But overall it has been an enjoyable way to see Europe. If the price is right, I do recommend going first class, although I will point out, that on a couple of occasions, no one checked my (or the other passengers) train tickets, so If your willing to risk it, then a self upgrade might work for you.

Stranger Chess - Street Chess Berlin Style

 My journey through Europe continues, and having passed through Vienna and Prague, I've now reached Berlin. Continuing my attempts to find small chess events along the way, I came across Stranger Chess, which is a social chess meetup in Berlin. Located here , it meets every evening from 7pm , with an emphasis on non competition chess. This is a deliberate strategy, as the goal is to get as many people playing chess, not just competition chess.

I had a couple of enjoyable and challenging games. Like Street Chess, rapid chess is the go, with the time limit of 10m+5s being standard. Also like Street Chess, it is played outdoors (along the footpath), but I wonder how they go during winter. 

After I finished I manage to explore more of Berlin than I planned to. I jumped the wrong tram and began to head in a direction I did not plan to go. Fortunately Berlin has a spoke and ring style public transport layout, so I was able to reach the next ring and take the train to where I am currently staying. I doubt I would have been so lucky if I was in Canberra.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Games of Interest

 One of the tasks I did not manage to complete at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, was the compilation of 'interesting' games. Of course what makes a game 'interesting' is quite subjective, so instead I was planning to look at statistically interesting games. These were things like the shortest played game, longest win, longest draw, longest match (in terms of moves etc). Unfortunately other duties got in my way, so while I made a start on generating a list (by processing the pgn files), it was by no means complete.

So instead I'll show you a game from round 9 played by Fiji Bd 1, Manoj Kumar. It was played in the same match where his team mate Yash Maharaj won in 9 moves, but that game saw a piece blunder and a quick resignation. This game a little more meat to it.

CM Manoj Kumar vs Joshua Solomon
2024 Chess Olympiad, Round 9, 2024

2024 Chess Olympiad - Womens event

 Unlike the Open Olympiad, the Women's event was a lot closer. India did win to make it double gold, but they had to beat Azerbaijan in the final round to make sure. They did so 3.5-0.5, making the result from the USA - Kazakhstan match academic, although the 2-2 draw allowed Kazakhstan to take silver, and the USA 3rd.

The Australian Women's team had a fantastic Olympiad, finishing tied for 22nd, with 6 match wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses. Along the way they beat both Israel and Cuba, and had the experience of playing China. Zhiyuan Shen scored 7/10 to earn a WFM title, while WGM Jilin Zhang scored an impressive 6.5/9 on board 2. The New Zealand team also had a great tournament, finishing well ahead of their seeding on 13 points, with every member of their team gaining rating points, and Yolanda Chang qualifying for the WFM title. 

Guam finished on 9 points, with Carmina Ramas and Ruth Nacarion earning WCM titles. Fiji finished on 8 points (a WCM for Makayla Sukhu), Guam on 7 (WCM for Angelil Sisior) and Vanuatu (in their first Olympiad) on 6 pointds (2 wins and 2 draws). Ela Milfirer earned their 1st female title with a WCM title.

2024 Olympiad Day 12.0

 Having accidentally put the wrong day on yesterdays post, I've labeled this one to reflect the correct day (but differently).

As expected, India wrapped up the 1st place, but they did it style, with a 3.5-0.5 demolition of Slovenia. They finished on 21 match points (out of a possible 22) a full 4 points ahead of USA (2nd on tie-break) and Uzbekistan (3rd on tie break). They also scored 35/44 in game points, losing only 1 game, and a full 4.5 game points ahead of the next team. In my time attending Olympiads, this is probably tho most dominant performance of any team I have seen.

Australia won their last match against Kosovo 3.5-0.5, to tie for 41st (45th on tie-break). I guess they would be disappointed with their performance this time round, as they were seeded a bit higher than that. The inability to score points against a couple of lower rated but quite solid teams (Ireland, Andorra, Faeroe Islands ) cost them when winning a single game could have turned a loss/draw into a win.

On the other hand New Zealand was probably pleased with how their tournament went. The beat Guatemala in the last round 3-1 to finish on 12 points (1 behind Australia) and tied for 57th (but 70th on tie break). This was ahead of their seeding, with IM Sravan Renjith having the best performance on the team.

PNG had a chance for a category medal if the could beat the Isle of Man, but starting the match one player down did not help. This did affect the mood/performance of the other players, and they went down 0.5-3.5. Still 4 match wins was a good performance for a team that had to draft 3 last minute replacements after the Hungarian organisers completely failed in the fundamental task of providing the correct information on visa applications.

Guam won their final match against Djibouti 3.5-0.5 to finish on 9 points, and once again finish at the top of the Pacific Island countries. Fiji went down to San Marino 0.5-3.5 to finish on 6 points, Palau narrowly lost to Cambodia 1.5-2.5, Vanuatu went down to Antigua 1-3, with both Palau and Vanuatu finishing on 4.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 12

 India defeated the USA 2.5-1.5 to *almost* secure 1st place in the 2024 Chess Olympiad. The result caused a degree of premature celebration from Indian fans online, as there is a possibility that a freak set of results (incredibly unlikely though they are) could result in a change at the top. The only team that can now catch them is China, who beat Uzbekistan 2.5-1.5 in Round 10. In third place is the real surprise of the tournament, Slovenia, who are on 16 match points after a win over The Netherlands. They do play India today, but if the games are all drawn after 30 moves (which secures a guaranteed 1st place for India) then they may hang on for a bronze.

Australia had another poor result, losing to the Faeroe Islands 1.5-2.5. After a good start to the tournament (8 points after 6 rounds), they have struggled in the 2nd half, only scoring 3/8, against much lower seeded teams. They do however remain a point ahead of New Zealand, who lost 0.5-3.5 to Hungary C (their Under 25 development team). However the last round pairing is a little kinder to NZ than to Australia, so the destination of the imaginary Oceania Cup is still to be determined.

PNG scored their 4th win of the tournament, beating Eritrea 2.5-1.5. There were wins on the top 2 boards, but in the ultimate safety play, Rupert Jones took a draw on board 3, despite having a forced mate in the final position. Guam lost to Barbados 1-3, to remain on 7 points, Fiji stay on 6 after losing to Mauritania 1-3, Palau lost to the Cayman Islands 1-3, and are on 4 points, where they have been joined by Vanuatu who drew 2-2 with Comoros Islands.

The final round is underway as I type this, although PNG is already 1 game down due to the PNG board 4 being 'unwell'. The closing ceremony is quite late this evening (Hungary time), although early risers in Australia may be able to catch the end of it on the Internet.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 10

 India has kept the lead in the 2024 Olympiad, after a 2-2 draw with defending champions Uzbekistan. All 4 games were drawn, although at least a couple of them had plenty of fight in them. They still hold a 2 point lead over 2nd place, but with 2 rounds to play, they still need to be careful.

The chasing pack on 15 points has now grown to 3 teams. USA beat Hungary 2.5-1.5 and now play India in Round 10 (Seeds 1 & 2 finally meet). Uzbekistan gained a point from the draw, while a 2.5 - 1.5 win by China over Iran also saw them join the group. A win for India pretty much secures them overall victory, as their tie-break is well ahead of everyone else's. 

Australia bounced back from some poor results with a win over Angola. However this wasn't without drama, as they were only ahead 2-1, with one game in progress. Zong Yuan Zhao was pushing for a win in a R+2p v R+p ending, with his opponent trying to claim a draw by repetition not once but twice. Although both claims were incorrect, the absence of the players from the board while checking the 2nd claim, convinced the venue that the game was finished. As a result the main lights in the venue were turned off, plunging the game into semi-darkness. The game had to then be moved to a location with better lighting, and another 30 moves were played until the draw was achieved.

New Zealand beat Nicaragua 3.5-0.5, and now play Hungary C. This has some importance as IM Sravan Renjith has slim chances of a GM norm, but needs to finish with 2 IM/GM opponents. Papua New Guinea must have used up all their luck in the previous round, going down 0-4 to Bahrain. As a result Guam has moved ahead in the unofficial Pacific Islands league, after they beat Granada 2.5-1.5. Fiji had a 4-0 win of Antigua, Palau lost to Bahamas 1.5-2.5, while Vanuatu lost by the same score to Niger.  

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 9

 Round 8 of the 2024 Chess Olympiad saw India extend their lead with a crushing 3.5-0.5 over Iran. They are now 2 points ahead of host Hungary, and defending champions Uzbekistan. A round 9 win over Uzbekistan is probably enough to secure 1st place (even with 2 rounds to go), but a loss would throw the event wide open.

The Australian team had another tough day at the office, drawing 2-2 with Ireland. All 4 games were drawn, with the Irish team defending a couple of difficult endings. New Zealand lost to Canada 1-3, but would be pleased with draws on the bottom 2 boards. 

Having thrown away a couple of good positions the round before, the PNG benefited from their opponents doing the same in Round 8. Having started with a forfeit loss on Board 4 to Mauritania (due to illness), Stuart Fancy won on the top board, but board 2 looked drawn, and board 3 looked losing. But both opponents over-pressed, and suddenly it was 1.5/2 and a 2.5/1.5 win for PNG. 

Vanuatu drew 2-2 against St Vincents to pick up another match point. Guam lost 0.5 - 3.5 to Saudi Arabia, Fiji lost 1-3 to Jersey and Palau narrowly went down to Lesotho 1.5-2.5

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 7 & 8

 Day 7 of the 2024 Chess Olympiad was a rest day for players and arbiters. It was also the first day of the FIDE Congress, although the morning sessions seemed pretty quiet, and after a brief visit I went off to do some site seeing. On place I did check out was the banks of the Danube, although this is now off limits as a rise in the river levels has seen the roads and footpaths along the shore covered in water.

Later in the day I caught up with former FIDE Executive Director Nigel Freeman, and well known arbiter and organiser Hal Bond. Along with Rupert Jones, we shared a number of drink and exchanged war stories well into the evening.

Day 8 saw the players return to the boards, and for some, it was a pretty rough day. The first shock of the round was China resting Ding Liren for the match against India, depriving the viewing public of a preview of the upcoming World Championship match with Gukesh. The strategy did not pay off as India beat China 2.5-1.5 to maintain their lead in the event. In outright 2nd is Iran who beat Vietnam and are 1 point behind the leaders.

Australia suffered a shock loss top Andorra, losing on board 1, and drawing the other 3 games. Despite the small population size, Andorra is still a very strong country, benefiting from its close proximity to major Spanish and French chess events. New Zealand had a better round, beating Malta 3-1, to join the Australians on 8 points. Papua New Guinea had a round to forget, losing 0-4 to Ghana. the match looked pretty even on paper, but 3 playable middle games collapsed pretty quickly, leading to a complete rout. Guam benefited from 2 forfeits to draw their match with Liberia, Palau beat Grenada 2.5-1.5, Fiji lost to a higher seed Namibia 0.5-3.5 and Vanuatu lost to USVI 1-3. In one piece of good news, Jeremy Ellison (Vanuatu) earned enough points to qualify for his CM title, which is great news for a federation who only joined last year.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 6

 At the end of the first week of the 2024 Chess Olympiad India is the outright leader on 12 points. Tied for 2nd are Vietnam, China and Iran, who have 1 point less. India kept up its winning run, beating home team Hungary 3-1. Vietnam and China drew 2-2, while Iran beat Norway 2.5-1.5. 

Australia bounced back from its narrow loss to England in round 5 by blanking Kyrgyzstan 4-0, and are tied in 21st place with 4 wins and 2 losses. New Zealand moved back to 50% with a win over Malawi. PNG had a tough day against Pakistan, losing 3.5-0.5, with FM Rupert Jones the only player to draw. Fiji had a big win over fellow Oceania team Palau 3.5-0.5, Guam beat BVI 4-0, while Vanuatu went down to Mauritius 3.5-0.5.

Today is a rest day, with most teams using it to see the sites, or simply recover from a week of hard fought chess. The Bermuda party (sans Bermudan organisers) was well attended, with players taking the chance to socialise away from the chess board. Also starting today is the 2024 FIDE Congress, although it was off to a slow start, with mainly administrative meetings today. The more interesting stuff happens later in the week.

 

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 5

At the end of the 5th round of the 2024 Chess Olympiad only 4 teams remain at the top. India, Vietnam, Hungary and China. In terms of game points, India are well in front, having scored 18/20. These 4 play today (in fact are playing right now), with Hungary v India being the most watched game.

There was an Ashes pairing further down with England v Australia on board 11. England emerged as the narrow winner 2.5-1.5 although Bobby Cheng defeated David Howell in the last game of that match to finish. New Zealand went down in a disappointing loss to a lower ranked Puerto Rico 1.5-2.5. On the other hand PNG scored it's second win of the tournament, beating traditional opponents San Marino 2.5-1.5. Guam, Fiji and Vanuatu were roughed up by their opponents, while Palau lost by a narrower margin of 2.5-1.5 against Saint Lucia. 

Today is the last round before the rest day. The timing of tomorrows post is entirely dependent upon the result of the 'B' Olympiad, which is being played at the Bermuda Party this evening.

Grassi, Enrico vs Jones, Rupert
2024 Chess Olympiad, Round 5, 2024

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 4

 Day 4 of the 2024 Chess Olympiad saw some tough games, and some significant upsets. Board 1 saw the USA get clipped by the Ukraine team, with the Ukrainians winning 2.5-1.5. The other big upset was Vietnam beating Uzbekistan 3-1, with 2 wins and 2 draws for the lower rated team.

The trans-Tasman clash between Australia and New Zealand ended in a narrow win for Australia 2.5-1.5. Felix Xie beat GM Temur Kuybokarov on board 1 while a draw between GM David Smerdon and Daniel Gong in the last game to finish secured the win for the Australian team.

PNG lost 1.5-2.5 to Afghanistan, which wasn't bad considering the rating difference. Stuart Fancy had a good win on board 1, while Rupert Jones drew on board 3. Palau drew 2-2 with Tanzania, while Guam, Vanuatu, and Fiji all went down.

The most interesting match up today (from a Pacific point of view) is the Ashes clash between Australia and England on Board 11. On Board 1, Azerbaijan will be hoping to slow the Indian juggernaut,   with the Indian team only dropping 1 game point (out of 16) so far.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 3

Day 3 of the Chess Olympiad saw a number of strong teams come together. Australia faced Ukraine in a match that saw Ivanchuk and (super) Ponomariov turn out. After a tough match Ukraine won 2.5-1.5, although GM Bobby Cheng scored a memorable win over Ivanchuk. At the very top most of the favoured teams on, although Italy beating The Netherlands 3-1 was definitely an upset.

 PNG scored their first win of the tournament, beating Guernsey 2.5-1.5. Stuart Fancy and Tom McCoy won on boards 1 and 2, while Terry Stuart scored his first Olympiad draw, having his higher rated opponent under pressure for most of the game. Guam and Fiji also won their round 3 matches, Palau drew and Vanuatu lost against a tough Tunisia.

The other exciting incident (apart from the PNG win) involved Magnus Carlsen almost being defaulted after deciding to ride to the venue. Due to heavy rain, and an unfamiliarity with the venue, he missed the start time and only made it to the board after the round had started, but before the default time.  After this, he may reconsider his travel plans.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 2

 The 2nd day of the 2024 Chess Olympiad was a pretty smooth affair, with a number of closer matches on offer. At the top of the table in the Open there were a few 2-2 results (Canada v Norway, Israel v Ireland) that raised some eyebrows, but the real rating upsets haven't started yet.

Australia picked up another win, 3-1 over Zimbabwe. New Zealand went close against the higher seeded Argentina, losing 2.5-1.5, with a win by IM Sravan Renjith being the highlight for the Kiwi's.

The other Oceania teams had a harder time, all losing to higher ranked opponents. PNG has the best chances for an upset, with a win by Tom McCoy on board 2, and winning, and then drawing chances for Rupert Jones on board 3. Jones missed a win in the middle game, and then bailed out to an ending where he left his opponent with a K+2N. Unfortunately he had a pawn left , and his opponent was able to avoid any stalemates, eventually finding the winning method for these types of positions.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 1

 The 2024 Chess Olympiad got off to a pretty good start, especially in terms of the pairings. For the first time in my memory, there were no forfeited matches in either event (although there were a few no shows in individual games). The PNG team was the beneficiary of one of those no shows, with Tom McCoy scoring an early (forfeit) win on board 2. Unfortunately the rest of the Bolivian team did show up, resulting in a 3-1 win to them.

Across both events all matches went according to seeding, with one small exception. Vanuatu were originally given the bye in the Open, but the late arrival of the team from the Democratic Republic of Congo meant we could pair these teams. Although DRC was nominally the favourite  on rating (in that Vanuatu players did not have ratings), the debutantes defeated the DRC 2.5-1.5.

Another great result occurred in the Fiji v Ireland match. Although Fiji lost 0.5-3.5, CM Rudr Prasad drew with GM Alexander Baburin on board 2. A real confidence booster for young champion.

CM Rudr Prasad vs GM Alexander Baburin
2024 Chess Olympiad, Round 1, 2024

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 0.5

 I normally make these posts at the end of the day (after the round) or the following morning. However, while there is a bit of lull, I thought I would sneak in a quick report about start of the first report.

As with all Olympiads, the first round does throw up some interesting challenges. The main one is making sure all the teams are present, so the round can start on time. Also normal is that the first round *never* starts on time. In this case the round did start a little late, in part due to transport issue for a few teams. Nonetheless the round only began 20 minutes late, with the exception of a few games, which started a bit later.

One thing the organisers did do well is to handle the large crowd of players trying to enter the playing hall. I have seen some absolute chaos at previous Olympiads, with queues well out the door, but this wasn't the case this time. I did have some issues finding some teams we needed to deal with (in terms of pairings), but overall it was a smooth start.

On bizarre occurrence was one team staging a boycott as their flag was printed incorrectly. The solution involved an arbiter drawing the missing colours on the player cards (with a texta), which satisfied the team concerned.

2024 Olympiad Day 0

 It turns out I am already losing track of the days. Today is the main arrival day for the Olympiad, and my main task is seeing which teams have/will arrive in time for the first round tomorrow. This task has been compounded by the visa difficulties that a number of teams have faced, which is either being semi-solved by appealing visa rejections, or by simply replacing team members with players who don't need a visa (aka the PNG method).

On the plus side, everybody is getting a Rubik's Cube (in the welcome pack). Hopefully these will be banned from the playing hall during the rounds, otherwise the Olympiad runs the risk of looking like a NSW Junior Chess Championship.

2024 Olympiad Day -2

 There are still 2 days to go before Round 1 of the Olympiad. Tomorrow is the arrival day (and opening ceremony) with play starting on Wednesday. I've been in and out of the venue over the last few days, helping get my part of the tournament set up (pairings and team registrations).

One piece of good news is that soft drinks/water/juice will be provided to the players (always a good sign). The venue lighting also looks good, so there will be no complaints about that. And the other good idea for players/spectators who are here, the Budapest 15 day metro/bus pass is only around 15 euros, and is well worth the investment. There is a metro stop right outside the playing hall, while you can also use it to ger around the city during your free time.

In Hungary

 I've now reached Hungary, to prepare for the 2024 Chess Olympiad. While for players and match arbiters, the hard work begins with round 1, for the Technical Administration Panel (aka the pairings team), hard work starts a few days out.

The main issue is making sure all the teams have arrived. For this year this is especially tricky, as a number of countries have had visa issues (including PNG). So at some point I will be camped at the Airport, trying to catch teams as they come off the plane, to establish if they have all turned up.

Fortunately we have a few days to confirm team arrivals, although in some cases, teams are cutting it very fine in terms of arrival. This isn't that unusual in some cases, including (iirc) my own Olympiad debut in 2000, where I think I arrived on the morning of the first round.

The 1st round for the Olympiad isn't until the 11th (a Wednesday) so you have plenty of time to get prepared. Rounds start at 11pm Canberra time, so you can either choose to stay up late, or catch the summaries the next morning before school/work/coffee!

League

I ran another club rapid last night at the Leeds Chess Club, and we had a good turnout of 24 players. Such events are not that usual, as most club nights are filled with League chess, something that isn't that common in Australia. In fact I pitched event as a 'warm up' for the league season, although everyone played with a little more intensity than someone going for a training run.

One of the first events of the season is a 6 team blitz event. Due to the popularity of the event (and the small size of the venue), only one team per club is able to play. And it is a traditional lightning tournament as well, with a 10 second buzzer being used, instead of chess clocks. The talk at the club was that Leeds CC were looking to win the trophy, having not won it for a number of years (like Leeds United I guess)

Sadly I will not be here for it, as I am off to the Chess Olympiad in a few days. I am arriving a few days early, to help sort out the usual chaos of team arrivals (or non arrivals) as part of the Technical Administration Panel. I assume I will have time to manage the odd post to this blog, but I cannot guarantee it!

Appletreewick International

 I've just finished playing in one of the more interesting international events I've ever been part of. The Appletreewick International was held in a converted schoolhouse in the Yorkshire Dales, and consisted of 14 players from various corners of the world. Apart from myself (Australia/PNG) there were players from USA, Norway, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ireland and of course the UK. The majority of players were also Chess Set Collectors (https://chesscollectorsinternational.org/) although a number of local players also took part.

The brainchild of John Jordan , the tournament consisted of a 9 round qualifying event (G/15m) followed by a semi final and final on the 2nd day (G/45m). I stumbled into the finals on 5.5/9, and then winning a blitz playoff against Robin Browne who tied with me. In the semi-final I lost to Colm Barry, repeating my loss from the preliminary rounds. I was slightly cheered by the knowledge that my opponent had played board 1 for Ireland in the 1984 Olympiad and is still a strong player. In the Final Barry played Jon Crumiller (the other player to beat me). In a very tense game Barry had a clear material advantage but running short of time, missed a mating attack which decided the game in Crumiller's favour. In keeping with the tournaments setting the first place prize was a flat cap and a set of braces, plus a jar of humbugs.

The tournament was a brilliant idea and very enjoyable. Despite the convivial setting, the quality of chess was quite high, with most of the players in the 1800-2300 range. Alongside the event were a number of social activities, including a tournament dinner, late night walks, and the hunt for mobile phone reception. Even the accommodation was top notch, with most of the players staying at  Parcevall Hall. While the lack of internet was annoying for those of us wedded to their devices, the rest of the stay could not be faulted.

Overall it was a great event. The only downside is that John Jordan is retiring as an organiser (after 10 years), so a new organiser will need to step up for next year. The good news is that this is likely to happen, with the event continuing in both the same format, and at the Parcevall Hall venue.

Leeds Chess Club

 Continuing my visits to various chess clubs in the UK, I went to the Leeds Chess Club yesterday evening.  It isn't the first time I have been there, having also visited in 2017.

The club meets at the West Riding Hotel in the centre of Leeds, and normally plays league chess plus casual chess when there are no league games. As the new league season has not started, the club arranged a 5 round rapid event (10m+2s) for the members. I was the arbiter, and 16 players took part. In a scene familiar with Street Chess players, we actually started with 10 players, and another 6 turned up after the first round had started.

The club is undergoing some rapid growth as a number of players were either new, or very recent sign ups. A couple were quite good, continuing the trend of online players moving to the over the board scene. Oliver Gill won the event with 5/5 (he was top seed), although he was made to work hard in a number of games.

So if you are in Leeds on a Wednesday evening (from 7pm) drop into the West Riding, for a pint, a plate of Pork Sausages and Mash, and an enjoyable evening of chess.

Wrong move, wrong moment

 For a long time the Sicilian Dragon was considered a 'brave choice', with all the implied risk that 'brave' denotes. One of the reasons is that white's attacking plan is fairly straightforward (at least according to Fischer) while Black has to avoid getting mated before their strategic goals can be realised.

That is, unless you misplay your opening prep ...

Nepomniachtchi, Ian vs Caruana, Fabiano
Sinquefeld Cup, 2024

No chess, only cricket

 The last few days have been spent watching cricket, at Scarborough and various village grounds in Yorkshire. I've had a number of interesting conversations (including with the father in law of the current Central Coast Mariners manager), but very few about chess. Nonetheless it has all been very relaxed and calm, almost in the same way that a weekend chess tournament might be.

For cricket historians, the Scarborough ground was the venue for Sir Donald Bradman's last game played in England. He scored a century, although the game finished in a draw.

Gloucester Chess Club

 I have just finished a pleasant evening of casual chess at the Gloucester Chess Club. I was made to feel very welcome, and the quality of players was at the upper end of club players back in Canberra. There were about 20 players at the club, with a mixture of adult players and older (teenage) junior players. I did uphold the honour of Canberra chess by winning a few games, although all of them were quite tough and could have gone in another direction.

And like clubs around the world, the conversations are strikingly similar. From the "I misplayed my opening and it was downhill from there" , "I'm not sure this will work, but why not!" to "C'mon brain, work!", chessplayers seemed to make the same observations. And the other ting the club had in common with chess clubs in Canberra, wonky tables. At least one game was in danger of a premature finish as the board was about to capsize.

If you are in Gloucester, the club meets on a Tuesday evening from 7:15pm, upstairs at the New Inn, Northgate, Gloucester. (And yes, in typical English style, it is named the New Inn to differentiate itself from all the other Inns founded in the 15th Century)

Classic Keith

 As yet I have not played any organised events while on my travels. I did play a few casual games with members of the Gloucester Chess Club (both drawn), but my plans to visit a weekend event or two in the UK hasn't got off the ground. One event I did see was the Manchester Open, but it was a little too far from where I am staying. 

I did look at few games from the tournament, including this classic comeback from GM Keith Arkell. He is well known for his ability to grind out wins in rook endings, which did happen here, but this also had the added twist of a nice swindle, starting around move 52.

Lee, Daniel - Arkell, Keith
Manchester, 2024

More lost treasures

 I picked up another interesting book today, one that covered the history of chess in Cambridge (the UK town, university and shire). Although it is a slim book, it does contain a number of interesting games, especially from significant figures in UK chess from the 1960's and 70's.

One such figure was Stewart Reuben, although unfortunately for him, his only game in the book was a loss to the author, R.G. Eales. I hope he does not mind me publishing it here.

Reuben, Stewart - Eales, R.G.
Middlesex v Cambridge, 1968

How long, has this been going on?

 By the time you read this, the game I am linking to may be over. But then again, it may not be ...

https://lichess.org/broadcast/iii-kingston-invitational-2024/round-7/HSXjB2Zl/FDC1XPQc

I'm in the Matrix

 A weird collision of media sources. One of the books I purchased yesterday was "What it takes to be a Grandmaster" by Andrew Soltis. The very first chapter is on the 'Extended Luft' and features a game by Berliner v Fischer. The game was played in Bay City, Michigan in 1963. While reading it, I was also watching a documentary on the Scottish music scene. And while they my not say this bit out loud, one of the biggest band of the 70's was the 'Bay City Rollers'. And to close this loop, they were of course named after 'Bay City, Michigan'

Berliner,Hans - Fischer,Robert
Western Open, 1963