The 5th round the 2018 Chess Olympiad saw PNG narrowly lose 2.5-1.5 to Mauritius. We were seeded slightly ahead of them, but their lower board players looked to be in quite good form. In the end we were both luck and unlucky, with Tom McCoy missing a win on board 4, while I came back from the dead to grab a point on board 2.
Despite the loss, we are on 8 game points (but only 2 match points) which is a reasonable score for us. One of the positive side effects of this is that we tend to have slightly easier pairings within our score group, although even at the lower end of the tournament, no pairing is truly easy.
In the Open section there are still 4 teams with 5 wins from 5 games. Azerbaijan had a narrow win over Armenia to keep their lead on tie-break, but they share the spotlight with Czech Republic, Poland, and The Ukraine. Australia had win over Faeroe Islands, and now are tied for 25th place. In the Women's event, the Australian team suffered their first loss of the tournament against the Czech Republic, but their 23rd place is still impressive.
Today is the tournament rest day, allowing people to both recover from last nights Bermuda party, as well as to attend meeting. I am currently sitting in a conference on Governance Standards in Sport, which has attracted a small but interested group.
Saturday, 29 September 2018
Friday, 28 September 2018
2018 Olympiad - Day 4
Day 4 of the 2018 Chess Olympiad saw something that rarely happens, a 4-0 to Papua New Guinea. Up against Olympiad newcomers Timor Leste we outrated them on all boards, and managed to convert all our good positions. Helmut Marko played a nice attacking game on board 3, while Tom McCoy scored his first win at a chess Olympiad in only his second game. My opponent mixed up some QGA theory (1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc 3.Qa4+ Nc6 4.Qxc4) but the Olympiad sometimes messes with your head, so briefly I wondered what was theory here (4 .. Nf6?) before realising I could just play 4. ... Qxd4
Up until now I haven't been following the top boards too closely, but the sensation of round 4 was Poland's win over Russia. This once again leaves Russia with a lot of work to do, especially if they want to win the Olympiad for the first time in 16 years. There are still a number of teams at the top, but the most interesting pairing of the day could well be Azerbaijan against Armenia.
The Australian Open team is battling out in he upper half of the standings, drawing 2-2 against one of the Gerogian teams yesterday. The Australian Women's team is doing even better, currently in 7th place after 4 rounds. They have won 3 of their 4 matches, and have drawn the other one. They play the Czech Republic today, and given the closeness in seedings for both team, they could go into the rest day among the leading group.
Up until now I haven't been following the top boards too closely, but the sensation of round 4 was Poland's win over Russia. This once again leaves Russia with a lot of work to do, especially if they want to win the Olympiad for the first time in 16 years. There are still a number of teams at the top, but the most interesting pairing of the day could well be Azerbaijan against Armenia.
The Australian Open team is battling out in he upper half of the standings, drawing 2-2 against one of the Gerogian teams yesterday. The Australian Women's team is doing even better, currently in 7th place after 4 rounds. They have won 3 of their 4 matches, and have drawn the other one. They play the Czech Republic today, and given the closeness in seedings for both team, they could go into the rest day among the leading group.
Thursday, 27 September 2018
2018 Olympiad - Day 3
Day 3 of the 2018 Chess Olympiad saw PNG go down 1-3 to Ghana. We lost games on the top 2 boards and drew 3&4. My game started off well when I managed to win a pawn in the opening, but as usual lost control of the position, and then missed tactics in time trouble. We were slightly better in the remaining two games, but were unable to convert them into full points.
As for the Olympiad itself, it is a bit of a mixed bag. As with recent editions, the security and control of spectators is somewhat heavy handed. Getting into the venue is difficult due to security checks, and even with my media pass, finding the media room took me 2 whole days!
The hotel that we (and a number of lower ranked teams) are staying at is nice and relaxed, but located about 20km's from the venue. This would normally make it difficult for us, but the PNG team has hired a menacing looking black Mercedes, so we tend to travel in style!
Today PNG play Timor Leste towards the back of the tournament hall, and hopefully we can score our first match win of the tournament.
As for the Olympiad itself, it is a bit of a mixed bag. As with recent editions, the security and control of spectators is somewhat heavy handed. Getting into the venue is difficult due to security checks, and even with my media pass, finding the media room took me 2 whole days!
The hotel that we (and a number of lower ranked teams) are staying at is nice and relaxed, but located about 20km's from the venue. This would normally make it difficult for us, but the PNG team has hired a menacing looking black Mercedes, so we tend to travel in style!
Today PNG play Timor Leste towards the back of the tournament hall, and hopefully we can score our first match win of the tournament.
2018 Olympiad Day 2 (and a bit)
The second round of the 2018 Olympiad was actually quite a good one for the Papua New Guinea team. Usually it takes 3 or 4 rounds before we look like picking up a match win, but a narrow 1.5-2.5 loss to Liechtenstein was a pretty good outcome.
The credit for this has to go to team captain GM Elshan Moradiabadi, who provided excellent opening preparation for the team. We all got positions on the board that we expected, and for a couple of us this was translated into a result.
Stuart Fancy won a nice attacking game on Board 1, while Rupert Jones had a 'gentlemens' draw on board 4 (against former FIDE Treasurer Willy Iclicki). I failed to grovel a draw in an ending where I was being squeezed, but a number of people pointed out I probably could have saved it at the end. Helmut Marko had a good position out of the opening, but he dropped a pawn and could not save the game.
In round 3 we are playing Ghana, although my own game is already finished. After winning a pawn in the opening I played the rest of the game poorly and lost. Curiously my opponent who is running a version of Street Chess in Ghana, and he even wore a shirt with 'Street Chess Champ' printed on the front!
At the moment we are down 2 games, but look better in the other 2. The best result is a 2-2, while I don't believe we will do worse the 1-3.
The credit for this has to go to team captain GM Elshan Moradiabadi, who provided excellent opening preparation for the team. We all got positions on the board that we expected, and for a couple of us this was translated into a result.
Stuart Fancy won a nice attacking game on Board 1, while Rupert Jones had a 'gentlemens' draw on board 4 (against former FIDE Treasurer Willy Iclicki). I failed to grovel a draw in an ending where I was being squeezed, but a number of people pointed out I probably could have saved it at the end. Helmut Marko had a good position out of the opening, but he dropped a pawn and could not save the game.
In round 3 we are playing Ghana, although my own game is already finished. After winning a pawn in the opening I played the rest of the game poorly and lost. Curiously my opponent who is running a version of Street Chess in Ghana, and he even wore a shirt with 'Street Chess Champ' printed on the front!
At the moment we are down 2 games, but look better in the other 2. The best result is a 2-2, while I don't believe we will do worse the 1-3.
Tuesday, 25 September 2018
2018 Olympiad - Day 1
The first day of the 2018 Chess Olympiad is of course, an exercise in controlled chaos. It is a given that the round will start late, so I was impressed that it started at 3:15, only 15 minutes after the published start time. There was the usual scrum at the security checks and some teams were still outside when the clocks started (most notably the USA) but even they did not lose, as the default time is a slightly better 15 minutes (rather than 0).
The PNG team played reasonably well against an IM strength Belgium team, but one by one we went down. I was probably lost earlier than my team mates (having forgotten my prep as early as move 5), but managed to hang on until just before the first time control. Tom McCoy had a good Olympiad debut, taking it up to his opponent, but in the end the rating gap counted for something.
Today PNG play Lichtenstein, which isn't a bad pairing for us. Although we are outrated across the boards, it isn't by a hug amount, and hopefully we can get something from the match.
The PNG team played reasonably well against an IM strength Belgium team, but one by one we went down. I was probably lost earlier than my team mates (having forgotten my prep as early as move 5), but managed to hang on until just before the first time control. Tom McCoy had a good Olympiad debut, taking it up to his opponent, but in the end the rating gap counted for something.
Today PNG play Lichtenstein, which isn't a bad pairing for us. Although we are outrated across the boards, it isn't by a hug amount, and hopefully we can get something from the match.
Monday, 24 September 2018
Belgium first up
Team pairings for the 2018 Chess Olympiad are out, and Papua New Guinea is up against Belgium in the first round. This is a repeat of the 2004 first round pairings for us, although at least this time we will be facing them with 4 players. Back in 2004 a couple PNG players failed to arrive and so we only played 3 games against them, defaulting the bottom board. We also played them in 2016 in the third round, and got 0 points again (even with the 4th player on board!)
Australia starts of against Qatar, while NZ play the Seychelles. In the Womens event Australia begin their campaign against UAE, while NZ is playing India on board 5.
In other Olympiad news, the PNG team ended up in its original accommodation, rather than being upgraded to the Hilton.This may not be a bad thing as where we are staying is quite nice and relaxing, despite being some distance from the venue. Other teams were given hotels a lot closer, but apparently the quality of some of these isn't that great.
Last nights opening ceremony was one of the best I have seen, and the players I spoke to agreed. The musical numbers were very good, with lots of visual affects and fire works. The speeches were generally short and to the point, although a bit of campaigning from the FIDE establishment did creep in.
First round begins at 3pm local tome, which I believe is 9pm Canberra time. The start may be delayed slightly, if only because the first round is also a bit chaotic.
Australia starts of against Qatar, while NZ play the Seychelles. In the Womens event Australia begin their campaign against UAE, while NZ is playing India on board 5.
In other Olympiad news, the PNG team ended up in its original accommodation, rather than being upgraded to the Hilton.This may not be a bad thing as where we are staying is quite nice and relaxing, despite being some distance from the venue. Other teams were given hotels a lot closer, but apparently the quality of some of these isn't that great.
Last nights opening ceremony was one of the best I have seen, and the players I spoke to agreed. The musical numbers were very good, with lots of visual affects and fire works. The speeches were generally short and to the point, although a bit of campaigning from the FIDE establishment did creep in.
First round begins at 3pm local tome, which I believe is 9pm Canberra time. The start may be delayed slightly, if only because the first round is also a bit chaotic.
Sunday, 23 September 2018
Georgia on my mind
It is early morning in Georgia as I type this, and I'm glad a woke up before sunrise. As with most Olympiads, the days before it starts can best be described as semi-controlled confusion. Having been given a hotel some way out of town, a last minute email indicates the PNG team may be staying in Batumi city instead. This means that someone really likes us (giving us a central location) or wants us away from more impressionable teams (as we can be troublemakers at times). Of course, I will only know for sure when we get to Batumi.
At the moment parts of the PNG and Australian teams are in Tbilisi, and will be heading to Batumi by train this morning. The opening ceremony is this evening (23rd September) with round 1 starting tomorrow. While it is still be confirmed, I may end up taking board 1 for PNG in the first round (with Stuart Fancy resting), which after 6 Olympiads as a players, will be a first for me.
At the moment parts of the PNG and Australian teams are in Tbilisi, and will be heading to Batumi by train this morning. The opening ceremony is this evening (23rd September) with round 1 starting tomorrow. While it is still be confirmed, I may end up taking board 1 for PNG in the first round (with Stuart Fancy resting), which after 6 Olympiads as a players, will be a first for me.
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