So many bad things to see

 The following game combines a number of hilarious themes that I often feature on this blog. 

(1) The French Defence gets a fearful hammering

(2) Grabbing the b pawn with your queen is once again bad

(3) Every now and then players who should know better (an IM in this case) still find a way of digging themselves further into trouble

Papp,Levente (2386) - Pribelszky,Bence (2391) [C11]
SixDays Budapest January 2025 IM A Budapest (9.2), 31.01.2025

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 9. Qd2 Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Bb5 Ndb8 12. f5 a6 13. O-O axb5 14. fxe6 fxe6 15. Ndxb5 Qa5 16. Qf2 Be7 17. Nxd5 exd5 18. Bb6 Rf8 19. Nc7+ Kd7 20. e6+ Kd6 21. Qg3+ Rf4 22. Qxf4+ 1-0

2025 Oceania Zonal - Final Results

 GM Temur Kuybokarov has won the 2025 Oceania Zonal, with a final score of 8/9. After dropping his 4th round game, he finished with 5 straight wins, beating FM Chris Wallis in the final round. Tied for 2nd were IM Rishi Sardana, IM James Morris and FM Stirling Bayaca on 7/9. Both Sardana and Morris went through the event undefeated, as did IM Gary Lane (6/9), who curiously drew every game he started with the white pieces.

WGM Julia Ryjanova was the clear winner of the Women's Zonal, scoring 8.5/9. She only conceded a draw to WFM Shiyuan Shen, who finished 2nd on 8/9. In third place was WCM Chao Xin Cheng who scored 7/9.

Both events saw a number of players earn direct titles. A few have already earned their FM/WFM/CM/WCM titles (based on career ratings), while for others, the titles will be awarded based on achieving the minimum required rating.

As Chief Arbiter of the event, I found it a very enjoyable event. The chess was competitive throughout, including the final round,  and a number of younger players showed a real step up in class. The venue (Huntingdale Golf Club) was fantastic, and the organising team from the Box Hill Chess Club (lead by Peter Tsai) did a brilliant job throughout. 

Full results and links to tournament games can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/2025oceaniazonals/home

2025 Oceania Zonal - Day 5

 With one round left to play GM Temur Kybokarov holds a half point lead in the 2025 Oceania Zonal. Bouncing back after his round 4 loss, Kuybokarov has reeled off 4 straight wins, taking down FM Alphaeus And and FM Stirling Bayaca in todays rounds. In outright 2nd is Chris Wallis, who beat IM David Cannon in round 7 and drew with FM Luis Chan in round 8. Fittingly, Wallis and Kuybokarov will face each other in the final round, which begins at 10am Melbourne time, tomorrow.

In equal third are 6 players on 6/8. While 1st place is out of reach for this group, a 2nd or 3rd place finish is an IM norm for the non IM's in this group. 

WGM Julia Ryjanova leads the Women Zonal on 7.5/8, half a point ahead of WFM Zhiyuan Shen. As both players have already met (drawing their game), the destination of the qualifying place for the World Cup will depend on their final round games. Ryjanova is playing  Elaina Qiang, while Shen plays WCM Luna Xu. 

While a few players have already scored enough points for direct titles, the last round will determine who else will earn them. Interestingly, the final round pairings see players in the open hoping to reach 6/9 (an FM title), up against players who already the this, or a higher title. So expect some fighting chess in the final round, which can be seen from 10:30am on Lichess.

2025 Oceania Zonal - Day 4

 At the end of the 4th day of the 2025 Oceania Zonal, the leading pack has thinned a little. The surprise leader is FM Stirling Bayaca, who is on 5.5/6. In the morning round he defeated GM Darryl Johansen and then FM Felix Xie (NZ) in round 6. He is being chased by IM James Morris, IM David Cannon, FM Chris Wallis and GM Temur Kuybokarov who are all on 5 points.  Tomorrow mornings round sees Bayaca up against Morris in the board 1 clash.

In the Women's Zonal, WGM Julia Ryjanova and WCM Chai Xin Chen share the lead on 5.5/6. They play each other in tomorrows first round, with the winner being well placed to win the event. A draw between the 2 leaders will open to door for WFM Zhiyuan Shen to catch up, as she is in outright third on 5/6.

Round 7 and 8 will be played tomorrow, with round 9 starting at 10am on Wednesday. Although qualifying for the World Cup is the ultimate goal from both events, a chance to earn direct titles is also a motivation for the rest of the field. With 6/9 required for an FM/WFM title, and 4.5/9 for a CM/WCM some results may be affected by title considerations. For some this may lead to over cautious play (like being on the bubble in poker), but for others, a last minute run up the score table may be in order.

2025 Oceania Zonal Day 3

 Day 3 of the 2025 Oceania Zonal started with a Blitz event. The 2025 Ocenia Blitz Championship was won by IM James Morris, scoring 8.5/9. FM Li Yiu finished 2nd on 7.5, and FM Luis Chan 3rd on 7.

Round 4 was in the afternoon and the surprise result was IM Davin Cannon beating top seed GM Temur Kuybokarov. A tactical miscalculation saw Cannon win an important pawn, and Kuybokarov could not generate enough counterplay as compensation. Cannon now shares the lead IM James Morris, who also reached 4/4 by beating FM Luis Chan. Tied for 3rd are a further 6 players on 3.5.

The lead in the Women's Zonal is also shared between 2 players, WGM Julia Ryjanova and Grace Yin. Yin, who started the tournament as 30th seed has had an impressive run of 4 straight wins, but will face Ryjanova in tomorrow mornings round.

The nest 2 days are both double round days, with the morning round starting at 10:00 am and the afternoon round beginning at 3:00 pm

 

2025 Oceania Zonal - Day 2

 After 3 rounds, 6 players are still on a perfect in the Open section of the 2025 Oceania Zonal. Top seed GM Temur Kuybokarov scored an easy win over Reyaansh Chakrabarty to maintain his perfect start. He was joined by IM James Morris, FM Felix Xie, IM David Cannon, FM Chris Wallis and FM Luis Chan, after they all scored round 3 wins. Another 13 players are on 2.5/3, so the likely winner(s) of the event are still some way from being known.

In the Women's Zonal, 5 players lead on 3/3. WGM Julia Ryjanova, Grace Yin, WFM Zhiyan Shen, WCM Jody Middleton and WCM Chao Xin Cheng have all had perfect starts to event, although tomorrows round may change that. Again there is a large group of players within one win of the leaders, so again, an eventual winner may take some rounds to emerge.

Chakrabarty, Reyaansh - Kuybokarov, Temur [C88]
2025 Oceania Zonal (3.1), 25.01.2025

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 Bb7 9. c3 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. axb5 axb5 12. Rxa8 Bxa8 13. d4 exd4 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Re8 16. Qd3 Bc5 17. Qf1 h6 18. Rd1 Qh4 19. g3 Qh5 20. Re1 Rd8 21. Qe2 Qh3 22. Qd2 Bc6 23. Re2 Nf4 24. Qxd8+ Kh7 25. Bc2+ g6 26. Bxg6+ Kg7 0-1

2025 Oceania Zonal - Day 1

 The first day of the 2025 Oceania Zonal saw 166 players turn up to the Huntingdale Gold Club in Melbourne, to determine the Oceania qualifiers for the 2025 World Cup. The Open section saw 117 players arrive for round 1 (curiously missing a group of New Zealand junior players who had taken advantage of the entry conditions to enter, but not play) with 49 players in the Women's section (who all turned up).

As the entry for the Open was restricted to players rated above 1900 (for Australian entries), the first round was tougher than previous Zonals. Although the top 5 seeds won their first games, IM's Lane and Solomon drew with their lower rated opponents, while IM Russell Dive lost to NSW player Ian Stalker. In the Women's event the upsets started as soon as board 3, and included a run of 6 boards (bd's 6 to 11) where Black won all the games.

Today is a double round day, with round 2 already underway. Important links are

• Tournament website
• Results Open
• Results Women
• Live Coverage

2025 Oceania Zonal

 The 2025 Oceania Zonal begins tomorrow, in Melbourne. Even with the tighter entry requirements (for home players at least), both events (Open and Women's) reached capacity entries months ago. Pleasingly the Open event has representatives from 7 of the Oceania Federations, while the Women's has 5 federations represented.

Both events will qualify 1 player to the 2025 World Cup, as well as offering the chance for players to earn direct titles (IM/WIM, FM/WFM and CM/WCM). Top seed in the Open is GM Temur Kuybokarov, and for the Women's WGM Julia Ryjanova.

The first round is at 1pm tomorrow (local time). Event details and result links can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/2025oceaniazonals/home

Note: I am Chief Arbiter for this event

Random bits of advice

 Random bits of advice and commentary I gave to a coaching class today

• Good tactics come from good positions
• King safety is the number one feature in a position
• Material is only number two
• The farther a rook can move, the stronger it is
• Don't do stupid things
• Chess is one of the few activities where kids operate on the same level as adults
• So accept that bad decisions have consequences
• Saying it was an accident is a kids way of saying they did it on purpose, but don't want to deal with the consequences
• No matter how bad your results are, they will improve when someone worse comes along
• As long as you keep playing, someone worse will come along
• The only way not to lose is not to play

Hilton Bennett Memorial - Game 9

 With the final game of the tournament I decided to 'bank my winnings' and offer an early draw. This left me on +1 for the tournament (2 wins, 1 loss and 6 draws), and meant I played to almost exactly my rating. Having come into the event with no FIDE rated chess in the last 12 months, I was happy with this result. My final place of =4th was a pleasant surprise as well, as I figured anything in the top half would be good. 

I found the tournament a very enjoyable experience, and the organisation was excellent. The schedule of 9 rounds over 7 days (only 2 double round days), gave me both enough time to prepare for my games, as well as to do some walking and sightseeing. Alongside my event were the IM Bob Wade Memorial (3 GM's+3 IM's) and the Middle Game Chess Foundation Challengers. The top event was designed to provide norm opportunities (and higher level chess) for New Zealand's rising starts, while the Middle Game Challengers showcased younger New Zealand talents. All three events saw some interesting and hard fought games, with the winners really having to work hard.

The organisers are looking at holding similar events next year, and I would certainly recommend the events for anyone interested in playing.

Forster, William - Press, Shaun [A05]
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (9.3), 19.01.2025

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 O-O 5. Bg2 c5 6. c4 Nc6 7. O-O d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 1/2-1/2

Hilton Bennett Memorial - Game 8

 After a sequence of drawn games, I finally scored my 2nd win of the event. My opponent had great experience in playing Benoni type systems (1.d4 c5) so I tried to find a sequence that avoided the main lines. As it turned out that we reached a position that closely resembled a Closed Sicilian, with the significant difference being that my d pawn was on d5 rather than d3. As a result I was able to use the extra space to build up a kingside attack without worrying so much about a counter attack in the centre. 

The final finish was evidence that good tactics come from good positions. The win moved me to 4.5/8, which meant I had achieved at least one of my goals, which was to score at least 50% for the tournament. (NB Once again the online broadcast threw in some extra moves at the end, for reasons that were not clear to me this time)

Press, Shaun - van Meter, Lester [A43]
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (8.4), 18.01.2025

1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 d6 6. e4 O-O 7. Nge2 Na6 8. O-O Rb8 9. a4 Nc7 10. h3 Bd7 11. Be3 b6 12. Qd2 Bc8 13. Bh6 Ba6 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. f4 Kg8 16. Rf2 Nd7 17. g4 f6 18. h4 Rf7 19. Ng3 Qf8 20. Bf3 e5 21. f5 Qg7 22. g5 Rbf8 23. Rg2 fxg5 24. hxg5 Ne8 25. Bg4 Bc8 26. f6 Nexf6 27. gxf6 Nxf6 28. Bxc8 Rxc8 29. Nf5 gxf5 30. Rxg7+ Rxg7+ 31. Kh1 1-0

Hilton Bennett Memorial - Game 7

 Having escaped with a fortunate draw in round 6, I offered the same gift to my opponent in round 7. Playing a mainline Gruenfeld, I reached the usual sort of position where Black is holding on, but always at risk if the White d pawn breaks loose. All the action kicked off around move 24 where I played 24 ... e6? which just encouraged the formulaic hack down the f file with f5 (24 ... Bd5! was the move). Then the next sequence of moves was not the best for both sides, but by move 31 I thought I would eb able to take the d pawn and survive. But just as in game 6, both my opponent and I missed the correct follow up to 34.Bg5. He assume he was winning material due the threat of Bxd8, while I thought I would get enough pawns as compensation for the piece after 34. ... Bxe5. It turns out both of missed the idea of 34. ... e6!! 35.exf6 Qe6! The threat is to take the knight on e2, or play Bxg2+, winning the queen. With best (computer calculated) play, I would have 3 pawns for the exchange, and definite winning chances. Instead everything came off and reducing his pawns meant that a draw by perpetual was the best result. (NB The live broadcast shows an incorrect ending, due to my opponent demonstrating how I could self mate by avoiding the perp).

Metge, Nigel - Press, Shaun
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (7.3), 16.01.2025

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Bg4 11. f3 Na5 12. Bd3 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 14. Qe1 Nc6 15. Rb1 b6 16. Rd1 Bc8 17. Bb5 Bb7 18. Qh4 a6 19. Ba4 b5 20. Bb3 Bf6 21. Qg3 Na5 22. e5 Bg7 23. f4 Nxb3 24. axb3 e6 25. f5 exf5 26. d5 Qd7 27. Rd3 Rfe8 28. Bf4 Rac8 29. Rfd1 Rc5 30. Kh1 b4 31. Qe3 Rxd5 32. Rxd5 Bxd5 33. Qd4 Rd8 34. Bg5 Bxe5 35. Qxe5 Bxg2+ 36. Kxg2 Qxd1 37. Bxd8 Qxd8 38. Nd4 Qa8+ 39. Kg3 a5 40. h4 a4 41. bxa4 Qxa4 42. h5 Qa3+ 43. Kh4 Qc1 44. Qe8+ Kg7 45. Qe5+ Kg8 46. Qe8+ Kg7 1/2-1/2

Hilton Bennett Memorial - Game 6

 Game 6 was played as the first game of a double round day (which in part excuses the quick draw the game before). I was happy with my position until I moved the queen to the wrong square on move 21. This meant I could not meet Bg5 with f4 and left me in trouble down the c file. After that I had to deal with pressure on my d pawn, which left me in a bad way. But the game then turned on a joint hallucination where both my opponent and I thought that 38.Qc2 lead to a perpetual, or a queen exchange leading to an equal ending. My opponent chose the later, and despite his attempts to create winning chances, it finished in a drawn opposite coloured bishop ending. Turns out he could have avoided to perpetual by making sure the king maneuvered to the correct squares .

So another draw, but at least I stayed on 50%

Press, Shaun - Stark, John [E81]
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (6.3), 17.01.2025

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Bd2 d6 9. Qc2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Qc8 11. e4 Nd7 12. Rac1 a5 13. b3 c6 14. Bb2 Re8 15. Rfe1 Qb8 16. Rcd1 b5 17. cxb5 cxb5 18. Rc1 Rc8 19. Qd3 Ba6 20. Nd2 b4 21. Qf3 Bg5 22. Rxc8+ Qxc8 23. Qd1 Ra7 24. f4 Bd8 25. Qb1 Bb6 26. Rc1 Rc7 27. Rxc7 Qxc7 28. Kh1 Nf6 29. h3 d5 30. e5 Nh5 31. Kh2 g6 32. Bf3 Ng7 33. g4 f6 34. Bg2 fxe5 35. fxe5 Qf7 36. Nf3 Qf4+ 37. Kh1 Be2 38. Qc2 Bxf3 39. Qc8+ Kf7 40. Qd7+ Kf8 41. Qd6+ Ke8 42. Qc6+ Ke7 43. Qd6+ Kf7 44. Qd7+ Kg8 45. Qc8+ Qf8 46. Qxf8+ Kxf8 47. Bxf3 Ne8 48. Kg2 Nc7 49. Be2 Na8 50. Kf2 Bd8 51. Ke3 Nb6 52. Kd3 Be7 53. Bd1 Nc8 54. Bc1 Na7 55. Be2 Nc6 56. Bd1 Bh4 57. a4 Bf2 58. Bb2 Kg7 59. Bf3 g5 60. Be2 Ne7 61. Bc1 h6 62. Bb2 Ng6 63. Bc1 Nh4 64. Bd2 Ng2 65. Bf3 Nf4+ 66. Bxf4 gxf4 67. g5 hxg5 68. Bg4 Kf7 69. Bh5+ Ke7 70. Bg4 Bh4 71. Ke2 Bg3 72. Kd3 Be1 73. Ke2 Bc3 74. Kd3 Be1 75. Ke2 1/2-1/2

Hilton Bennett Memorial - Game 5

 This game falls under the heading of 'tournament management'. In a round robin event, you don't necessarily have to win every game (unless you are Fischer), so taking a quick draw can restore your energy for the next day.

Gibbons, Robert - Press, Shaun
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (5.2), 16.01.2025

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Bxd5 cxd5 1/2-1/2

Hilton Bennett Memorial - Game 4

 My round 4 game had a number of interesting points, including my usual issue of mis-assesing my winning chances. My younger opponent decided to take the c pawn in the Catalan (as black) and then hang on to it for as long as possible. Having been caught out by this idea previously, I decided to give him a passed b pawn, and then slowly play around it. If I won it back, great, if I didn't, I had other advantages to work with. 

The game got quite interesting after he decided to give up two pieces for a rook and another pawn. This didn't give him the play he was hoping for, but at the same time, moved us closer to an ending where the b pawn might count for more. As a result I repeated the position (a perp on the queen), and we shook hands. According to the engine, repeating the position was my only real mistake in the game, as moving the night to c5 (instead of a5) could have resulted in a better position after Qb8 Nd7 followed by getting the other knight to c5. Suffice to say, the idea did not occur to me.

So I'm still on 50% (2/4), with today being a single round day.

Press, Shaun - Wang, Aaron
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (4.5), 15.01.2025

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. O-O Rb8 7. e3 b5 8. a4 a6 9. axb5 axb5 10. b3 cxb3 11. Qxb3 Bd6 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Nbd2 Qe7 14. e4 Bb4 15. Bc3 Bxc3 16. Qxc3 Bb7 17. Rfb1 b4 18. Qc2 Ra8 19. Nb3 Na5 20. Nxa5 Bxe4 21. Qb2 Bxb1 22. Qxb1 Nd5 23. Ne5 Qd6 24. Nec4 Qa6 25. Bf1 Qa7 26. Qb2 Rfc8 27. Nb3 Qb7 28. Nba5 Qa7 29. Nb3 Qb7 30. Nba5 1/2-1/2

Hilton Bennett Memorial - Game 3

 This was the second game from yesterdays double round day. My opponent got a little tangled on the queenside and missed the idea of me catching the knight in the corner. I still had to be a little careful in regards to the passed a pawn, so I took the slow and steady route to convert the material advantage.

The win brought me back to 50% after 3 games. 

Press, Shaun - Dolejs, Dan
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (3.1), 14.01.2025

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. Nxc4 Be7 9. Re1 Rb8 10. Nce5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Nd5 12. e4 Nb6 13. Be3 f6 14. Nf3 Nc4 15. Bc1 b5 16. a4 a6 17. b3 Na5 18. axb5 Rxb5 19. Bf1 Nxb3 20. Bxb5 Nxa1 21. Bc4 Bb4 22. Bd2 c5 23. Qxa1 Bxd2 24. Nxd2 a5 25. Nb3 cxd4 26. Nxd4 Qd6 27. Nf3 Qb4 28. Qa2 Re8 29. Qb3 Qd6 30. Ra1 Ba6 31. Bxa6 Qxa6 32. Nd4 Kf7 33. Rb1 a4 34. Qb7+ Qxb7 35. Rxb7+ Re7 36. Rb1 e5 37. Ne2 Ra7 38. Ra1 Ke6 39. Nc3 g6 40. Rxa4 Rxa4 41. Nxa4 f5 42. f3 Kd6 43. Kf2 h5 44. Ke3 Kc6 45. f4 Kd6 46. Nb6 Ke6 47. Nc4 exf4+ 48. Kxf4 fxe4 49. Kxe4 g5 50. h3 Kf6 51. Ne5 Ke6 52. Nf3 Kf6 53. Nd4 Kg6 54. Ke5 Kg7 55. Kf5 Kh6 56. Kf6 h4 57. Nf5+ Kh7 58. g4 1-0

Hilton Bennett Memorial - Game 2

 This mornings round saw me get caught in a surprisingly short draw. Having chosen a line against the Exchange Ruy Lopez that gives Black easy equality, my opponent played a move that lost a pawn. To be fair it wasn't a great extra pawn for me, but it meant I could try and grind for a win. That was until I overlooked a tactic which allowed home to sacrifice a piece for a perpetual check. The whole game took about 40 minutes, and so I had most of the day off.

Fuatai, Fuatai - Press, Shaun
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (2.5), 14.01.2025

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Qf6 6. d4 exd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Be3 Bb6 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. Bxb6 cxb6 12. exf5 Nh6 13. Re1+ Kd7 14. f6 gxf6 15. Nd2 Rhe8 16. Ne4 Re6 17. Rad1+ Kc7 18. f3 Rg8 19. Nxf6 Rxf6 20. Re7+ 1/2-1/2

Bob Wade Masters and Hilton Bennett Memorial

 The New Zealand Chess Federation has organised a series of events to recognise the wonderful contributions of IM Bob Wade and CM Hilton Bennett to New Zealand Chess. The Bob Wade Masters is a 10 player round robin, with 3 GM's (Nagy, Song and Zhao) plus a mix of IM's and FM's. The Hilton Bennet Memorial is also a 10 player RR, with a mix of players who knew or played against Hilton during his chess career (including myself). The third event is mainly for younger players, and is alos a 10 player RR.

In the Masters, the 3 GM's all got off to a winning start, as did IM Sravin Renjith. The Bennett Memorial also saw 4 decisive games, although I was on the wrong end of the scoreboard in my game. Choosing the wrong way to meet a potential f5 push in the Kings Indian I went from better to worse, not quite getting to grips with the requirements of the position.  

Tomorrow is a double round day, and all games can be followed at https://lichess.org/broadcast/bob-wade-masters-2025--bob_wade/YhDPYAvJ

 

Press, Shaun - Qin, Oscar
2025 Hilton Bennett Memorial (1.2), 13.01.2025

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O a6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. d5 Nb8 9. Qc2 e5 10. e4 Nbd7 11. Bd2 Nh5 12. Nh4 Nf4 13. Bxf4 exf4 14. Ne2 Nc5 15. Nf3 fxg3 16. hxg3 f5 17. Nd2 Qe7 18. Nc3 fxe4 19. Ndxe4 Bf5 20. Rae1 Rae8 21. f3 Bd4+ 22. Kh2 Qg7 23. Qd2 Nxe4 24. fxe4 Bd7 25. Rxf8+ Rxf8 26. Rf1 g5 0-1

2025 Australian Open

 The 2025 Australian Open has finished in a tien for 1st betweem IM Mihalo Radovanovic (SRB) and CM Tri Kien Le (VIE). They finished on 7.5/9 after recording wins in the final round. Le went through the event undefeated (6 wins, 3 dars), while Radovanovic lost to Le (in round 8), but won 7 games (also drawing with IM James Morris. Ryder Testolin finished in outright 3rd on 7 points, after beating Morris in a wild final round game. The loss by Morris pushed him back to a tie for 4th, alongside GM Daryl Johansen, Harvey Zhu, Sam Asaka, and FM Daniel Chan (SGP)

The title of Australian Women's Champion was awarded to WIM heather Richards, who finished on 5.5.

91 players took part in the Open, while a further 129 players played in the 7 round Minor. Daniil Yelkhovsky won this event on 6.5, ahead of a group of 4 players on 6.

The next major event in Melbourne will be the 2025 Oceania Zonal, which begins on the 24th January.

Robert Hubner

 Legendary German GM Robert Hubner passed away a few days ago, at the age of 76. One the worlds top players in the 1970's and 80's, he reached a peak ranking of No. 3 in the world in 1981. He did this while essentially remaining a chess amateur, holding a number of academic positions during his playing career.

While known for his chess ability, he was also regarded as somewhat eccentric. His attempts at qualifying for the World Championship match ended with his withdrawal from the matches on 2 occasions, and a loss due to a spin of a roulette wheel when his match against Smyslov was drawn. 

Somewhat of an anti-authoritarian, he retired from active chess when FIDE introduced drug testing to the sport. But even before that he demonstrated this in a famous game against Ken Rogoff, where in protest at being asked to play a significant number of games at the World Student Teams Championship (by his captain), he and Rogoff concocted an interesting draw (https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1543378)

A true original of the chess world, his passing severs another link with the great players of the 1960's and 70's.

2025 Australian Blitz Championship

 IM James Morris has once again collected the title of Australian Blitz Champion, winning the 2025 edition with 9.5/11. He finished half a point ahead of IM David Cannon, with a group of players tied for third on 8.5. The top 2 players did not actually meet in the event, due to a surprisingly early loss for Morris (round 3) and a similar loss for Cannon (in round 4)

The event attracted 136 players and was run on the rest day for the 2025 Australian Open. The win for Morris qualifies him for the 2025 World Blitz Championship (as national champion), although where the 2025 edition will be is as yet to be determined.

2025 Australian Open, and 2025 New Zealand Championship

 Two important events kicked off today, with both the 2025 Australian Open and 2025 New Zealand Championship up and running. The New Zealand Championship has the distinction of being one of the oldest championships in the world (along with Scotland), being held regularly since 1889. 

The strength of both events seems similar, although the NZ event looks to have more international federations represented. Top seed for the Australian Open is IM James Morris, while GM Gabor Nagy is the top seed in NZ.

Both events can be followed online, at lichess.org. The link for the Australian Open is https://lichess.org/broadcast/2025-australian-open--premier/round-1/MfE3W8Xn  ehilr the NZ event can be followed at https://lichess.org/broadcast/new-zealand-chess-congress-2025/round-1/spI5tcia

Kissing your sister

 The way the 2024 World Blitz Championship pretty much sums up the whole week in New York. After the top 8 players qualified for the final may agreeing to quick draws in the final round of the qualifiers, they spent the next day playing a series of knockout matches to determine a winner.

Except after 7 games in the final (4 regular games + 3 drawn tiebreaks), Carlsen proposed to Nepomniachtchi that they split the title and go home. Although this wasn't in the rules (https://handbook.fide.com/files/handbook/wrbc_regulations_2024_open.pdf ) Nepo agreed to this result, leaving FIDE with it's hands tied on the matter. 

The general online opinion hasn't bee particularly kind to all involved, although some people think it was the best outcome* There is still a lot to be unpacked about this tournament, and the various tournament incidents** but I suspect this will happen much later in the year. For now, there are joint Open Blitz Champions. At least in the Women's event Ju Wenjun won the title according to the regulations, winning the final 3.5-2.5

* Use of the expressions 'general ... opinion' and 'some people' is very poor journalism, and is something you condemn.

** Earlier in the event, someone was actually arrested trying to enter the venue without the correct accreditation!