Fictional Masters

On the flight back from Guam, I watched the 2015 version of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E". A quite enjoyable film, but it was something in the end credits that caught my eye. Fictional biographies of the two main characters, Napolean Solo and Illya Kuryakin, were being given, and one of the facts about Kuryakin was that he was an International Master with a rating of 2405. This was reinforced by one scene in the move where he was analysing a position, although it looked like opening analysis, as not many pieces had been developed.
Avoiding characters in obvious chess movies or books, I had a look at who else might be a highly rated fictional player. GM Tov Kronsteen is one example, appearing in an international tournament in "From Russia with Love" (book and film).  Roy Batty, from Blade Runner, was also pretty good, but the penalty for losing to him was pretty severe. And in looking at this list over at Bill Wall's chess page, it appears the Forrest Gump knew a thing or two about the game, although as I don't recall seeing this in the movie, his prowess was confined to the printed page.

2019 ACT Championship 8th-11th March 2019

The 2019 ACT Championship is on next weekend (8th-11th March). This FIDE Rated event is open to residents of the ACT and surrounding areas. It will be a 7 round tournament, with the first round played on Friday evening, and then 2 rounds a day on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Canberra Day holiday). The venue is Campbell High School, Trealor Crescent, Ainslie (next to the War Memorial), with the first round starting at 7:30 pm on the Friday evening. Entry fee is $65 ($45 concessions). Entries are being managed by ACTCA President Cam Cunningham, and you can contact him at camcunningham8@gmail.com
I would recommend anyone who has the time over the weekend to give it a go. If my trip to Guam has demonstrated anything, turning up to a tournament can yield some surprising results! It also provides a good opportunity for some serious, internationally rated chess, as well as being a good warm up for the Doeberl Cup.

(Disclaimer: I am a paid official for this event)

Putting the French to sleep

If there was one opening that stood out at the 2019 Oceania Zonal it was the French Defence. The tournament had 3 or 4 hardcore French players, so it hit the table almost every round. Unfortunately for the French players, almost every French was met with the Exchange Variation.
I played in a couple of games, and should have lost against Tony Dowden in round 2.  But I had a miraculous escape and then noticed other players choosing the same variation (up until a point). As a lot of games ended in a draw, I suspect it was very frustrating for the players with the black pieces, who were often the higher rated player in the pairing.
However a game played by GM Nigel Short shows it could have been a lot worse for them. He chose a slightly delayed exchange variation (after 3.Nc3 Nf6) but whipped up a strong kingside attack and won pretty quickly. Having just played another drawn Exchange French this evening at the club, I may have to look at this refinement for future inspiration.

Short,Nigel D (2648) - Moran,Stephen (2155) [C01]
26th Bunratty Masters Bunratty IRL (1.3), 22.02.2019

On the (delayed) road again

I'm not sure if this is a common occurrence with professional chess players, but it seems that one typhoon can ruin your whole day. In the case of players heading home from the Oceania Zonal in Guam, Typhoon Wutip has thrown a lot of travel arrangements into chaos. There were a few scheduled flights that were cancelled today (the designated departure date), some justified, and some not justified. Flights heading to Manilla were the most affected, as the flight path crossed the typhoon's path, but the decision to cancel the flight to Taiwan by China Airlines made little sense. Every other airline flying to the same part of the world managed to leave Guam without difficulty, something that was noticed by a few of us who decided to deal with Typhoon Wutip by going swimming in the ocean.
The scramble for re-booking flights and accommodation was easy for some, and somewhat more difficult for others. In my case I made the mistake of booking with Expedia (never again) and it took 4 separate conversations before they were able to reschedule my flights. My favourite agent was the guy who helpfully told me I could fly on the 25th, and then confirmed I was still booked on a connecting flight that left on the 24th. Even then the re-booking now has me flying to Sydney (rather than Melbourne) where I catch a Qantas flight to Melbourne, so I can then fly from Melbourne to Canberra. The obvious change to a single Sydney-Canberra flight was rejected by the agent on the grounds "it wasn't allowed"

2019 Oceania Zonal - Wins for Illingworth and Ryjanova

The 2019 Oceania Zonal has finished, with GM Max Illingworth and WGM Julia Ryjanova winning the Open and Women's events respectively. Illingworth was paired against FM Stuart Fancy (PNG), and despite needing only a draw to secure first place, played an aggressive opening system, and eventually won the game.
I finished in 2nd place, due to a run of luck which started on day 1 of the tournament. I was paired against Felix Lacno (GUM) in the final round, and he needed half a point for the FM title. Up until this game he had a phenomenally good run (including the win of Illingworth in round 1), but chose this round to play a very poor opening (see game below). He dropped a pawn early on, and then got into a horrible mess on the queenside. Despite an early queen exchange, he just didn't have enough pieces to protect his king, and I ended up outright 2nd.
Clive Ng and John Duneas agreed a quick draw on board 2, as this secured the FM title for both of them. The only other player to reach 6 points was Enofre Manuel (GUM), who recovered a bad position to beat fellow Guam player Elias Tirador.
In the Women's Zonal Julia Ryjanova completed a clean sweep winning her final round game to score 9 points from 9 games. Rebbeca Stones (AUS) finished in 2nd place with 7.5, and Vyanla Punsalan took third on 7.
As predicted in my last post Typhoon Wutip has caused a number of flights to be cancelled, so a lot of players will now be here for at least one extra day. As compensation, it has been decided to hold the Oceania Blitz Championship tomorrow morning.


Lacno, Felix - Press, Shaun
Zonal Guam, 2019

2019 Oceania Zonal - Day 5

Day 5 of the 2019 Zonal saw a curious set of results in the afternoon round, with the top 3 boards of the Open being drawn quite quickly. GM Max Illingworth was a point in front, having defeated Clive Ng round 7, and other results left John Duneas and Shaun Press tied for second on 5 points (with Clive). The round 8 pairings saw Illingworth v Duneas and Press v Ng. After a few moves, I received a slightly surprising draw offer from Ng, which I accepted, moving both of us to 5.5. Then a few minutes later Illingworth offered Duneas a draw, which was also accepted. As a result Illingworth on needs a draw in the final round to guarantee outright first. On board 3 Tony Dowden and Enofre Manuel also drew fairly quickly, moving Manuel and Dowden to 5. Joining the players in equal second are Stuart Fancy and Felix Lacno, after they won their round 8 games.
Tomorrows last round sees Illingworth against Fancy, Duneas against Ng, and Press against Lacno. While there are number of possible outcomes (eg Fancy beating Illingworth), a tournament win for Illingworth and a multi-way tie for second on 6 seems to be the most likely outcome.
WGM Julia Ryjanova has already secured first place in the Women's Zonal, maintaining her perfect record of 8 wins from 8 games. Rebecca Stones is second on 6.5/8. while WFM Vyanla Punsalan is third on 6. As the three players have all played each other, the final standings depend upon how well they do against their lower ranked opponents.
The other exciting piece of news is that a typhoon will pass quite close to Guam in the next day. As a result there is a real risk that outgoing flights will be affected, meaning that some players may be forced to spend extra days in the Pacific!

2019 Oceania Zonal - Day 4

The 2019 Oceania Zonal is entering the final stages, with round 7 seeing the joint leaders, CM Clive Ng and GM Max Illingworth meet on board 1. Both players are on 5/6 with Illingworth losing one game (his first), while Ng has had two draws. Ng has the White pieces and is hoping to get at least half a point against an opponent who outrates him by 450 points.
Shaun Press and John Duneas share third place on 4.5/6. Their 6th round game ended in a draw although Press was in a position to play on. There is a group of four players tied for 5th on 4/6. With 3 rounds to play, they are all looking at both catching the lead groups, as well as reaching the 6/9 score required for an FM title.
In the Women's event, WGM Julia Ryjanova leads with 6/6. She is playing WFM Vyanla Punsalan in the first of tomorrows 2 rounds, but if she negotiates that game without slipping up, then the tournament should be hers.