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.