Brave Sir Robin ran away

Speaking of taking a reputational hit as a chess player, I saw another example of this today.
I am currently playing in a club event, where a provisional draw is published in advance. So for the last week I knew who I was supposed to be playing this evening. More importantly, my opponent knew he was supposed to be playing me.
So when I turned up to the club this evening, I was not that surprised to be told that he had requested a half point bye, and that I would be paired against some one else. Even less surprising was that 10 minutes into the round, my original opponent turned up to watch the games. 
The trick he was trying to pull (and the club lets him get away with it), is to avoid having the black pieces against a stronger player. As I won my game we are now on the same points and will likely be paired in the next round, albeit with me playing black,

The big sit

What happens if your opponent refuses to move, and decides that they would rather lose on time than either resign or be checkmated? Pretty much nothing. The time on their clock is to do with as they please, and if that involves sitting at the board for an hour, then that is their right.
As a tournament arbiter, this has happened on occasion, and I've been asked whether I can do anything. I certainly can't make the player move or resign, but I can make sure they follow the rules while the game is still in progress. The one rule that I do insist upon in this situation is that they must remain at the board during their move. I also forbid them from talking to anyone, or acting in a distracting manner. Interestingly, when I have done this, resignation usually occurs quite quickly.
Of course it is poor sportsmanship to behave in this manner, but for some players, their chess reputation doesn't seem to matter. For younger players this is understandable, but for players old enough to know better, it is a bit of a mystery to me. Maybe they've seen the story of Curt von Bardeleben (who famously walked out on Steinitz rather than resign) and decided that infamy is just as good as fame.

Memories of Norths

For chess clubs without their own premises (which is the case for most chess clubs in Australia), it can be a nomadic existence. For example, the Belconnen Chess Club has had 6 different venues since it was formed in 1981.
One of the venues (and a good one at that) was the Norths Rugby Union Club. Located in club district in Belconnen, it had an large upstairs area that the club was happy to let us use, in return for the custom that the chess club members brought in. As the club wasn't usually that busy, and Belconnen had a membership of around 50 at the time, it was a deal that suited both parties.
Unfortunately the lack of trade at other times finally caught up with the club, with its closure forcing Belconnen to move once again. However, during our time there, the club hosted a number of strong events (and weekenders), and I played a lot of good chess there. One game I remember to this day was the following win over Rory OBrien, a strong Canberra junior in the 1990's.


Press,Shaun - O'Brien,Rory [D15]
ACT-ch Canberra, 1993

Don't fear the leaper

I'm not an expert endgame player by any sensible measurement system, but I do have one thing that gets me good results during this stage of the game. Confidence. If I think I can win an ending, or that the ending is better for me, then I'm likely to find the right plan.
As a result I'm often happy to head for an ending if nothing else is working for me, on the grounds that I can induce a mistake from my opponent. In the following recent example, I was happy to offer the exchange of queens on the grounds that I though the knight ending was easily winning. I probably over estimated my chances, but in doing so I was able to play the right sort of moves to improve my winning chances. It turns out one of my 'good' moves was based on a miscalculation on my part, but my opponent missed the best reply, and a few moves later (in time trouble) went wrong himself.

Press,Shaun - Aliyev,Kamran [B22]
Canberra CC (5), 23.10.2019

2019 ASTC

The 2019 Australian Schools Teams Championship is being held in Canberra over the weekend of the 30th November and 1st December. It is run in 4 sections (Primary Open and Girls, Secondary Open and Girls) with each Australia state entitled to send a team. Normally each section is a 6 team round robin, with a time limit of G60m+10s
Most states are in the process of selecting their representatives, including the ACT. Our final playoffs are this weekend, with a number of schools and teams taking part. To mirror the format of the ASTC, the time controls are the same, which for some students, is their first opportunity to take part in this type of event.
Full details of the ASTC final can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/2019-astc/home

The massive rating jump

Under the current FIDE rating regulations it is now possible to see ratings increase by quite a large amount, especially if you are a junior player. Looking at some of the performances from the current World Junior, there are more than a few players looking to gain 100+ rating points from this event.
However, this pales in comparison  to picking up 335 points in a single rating period, from only 2 events. Hikaru Oka (formerly AUS, but now JPN) did so recently, playing in two tournaments in Serbia. Starting with a rating of 2068, he picked up 190 and 145 points from each event, and is now the highest rated player in Japan. His rise to the top has been quite meteoric, as 2 years ago he was rated in the 1600's, but trips to Serbia (and Montenegro) have seen a huge improvement.
It will be interesting to see if he can maintain this form, but if he does, he may well b the top board for the Japan team at the next Olympiad.

2019 World Junior

The 2019 World Junior Championship is taking place in New Delhi, with a very strong field taking part. Local hopes rest on the shoulders of R. Praggnanadhaa (although GM Murali Karthikeyan is higher rated), while Australia is being represented by GM Temur Kuybokarov and Albert Winkelman. Both are placed in the mid field, although Winkelman did manage to take half a point of top seed GM Tabatabei of Iran. Poor Tabatabei isn't having a great tournament overall, losing by default to Israeli IM Or Bronstein, and apparently being unwell at the same time.
The home page for the event is at https://worldjuniorchess2019.com/ if you want to follow the games, see the standings, or listen to live commentary.


Winkelman,Albert (2143) - Tabatabaei,M.amin (2642) [B67]
58th World Juniors 2019 New Delhi IND (2.16), 16.10.2019