2021 Online Chess Olympiad - Day 1

 The first day of the 2021 Online Chess Olympiad began with 60 teams in action. Due to the varying levels of infrastructure around the world, some teams were able to play with all players present, while others had to make do with whoever could maintain a stable internet connection. As a consequence not all teams were able to perform to pre-tournament expectations, which leaves the competition for promotion places wide open.

I was a spectator for a couple of Pools (A and B), and was a pool arbiter for Pool C. This involved teams from Africa and Europe, and the results were either feast or famine. Five teams won all their matches to be on 6 match points, while 5 teams lost all of theirs to be on 0. The middle 2 teams one 1 match, drew against each other and lost 1 match. On tie-break, Angola and Ethiopia hold down the top 2 places, with Jersey, Malta and Cyprus close together, battling for third. 

Just like last year, the strength of the lower division teams can sometimes be mixed, with a couple of strong players on the top boards, and lower rated players further down. However Angola has turned out a consistently strong team, as shown by the following board 1 game.

Njau,Albert (1702) - Silva,David (2321) [A00]
2021 FIDE Online Olympiad Chess.com (3.3), 20.08.2021

2021 Onilne Chess Olympiad - Starts today

 The 2021 Online Chess Olympiad starts in a few hours. Division 4 is the starting division this year, with Pool A the first pool to kick off. It consists of teams in Asia (including Oceania) including Fiji, Guam and Hong Kong. The top 3 teams from this pool (and each of the Division 4 pools) qualify for the next round (Division 3). Pool A begins at 6pm Canberra time, and there will be 3 rounds today with 4 rounds on Saturday and Sunday. Based on rating, Pakistan and Lebanon look like the favourites to qualify, but Fiji and Guam are in with a chance to take 3rd, along with a few other teams.

There should be plenty of life coverage of the games, which will be hosted on chess.com. Details from chess.com are here while the official FIDE stream is at https://onlineolympiad.fide.com/stream

(** I am a paid official for this event, although I will not be involved in Pool A for this round **)

TV shows that briefly mention chess

 While the show is definitely not about chess, Ted Lasso does have more than a few references to it, including using it as an important plot point in one of the episodes. It even includes a blindfold game, which does end badly for one of the main characters. But chess aside, it is a very funny series, and one that I am enjoying immensly.

Traxler FTW

 The return of online chess events in Canberra saw some exciting chess played. Fred Litchfield had a nice tactical win against the Dragon, while Mark Hummel wheeled out the Traxler to great effect. Playing Max Albert in the last round, both players seemed a little unsure of what theory was, and there were a few inexact moves. In an effort to free up some of his pieces, Hummel decided to take his king for a walk, and it was at this point Albert missed a crushing move (19. Nc3!). Instead he threatened mate in 1, but as in a lot of Traxler games, it was Black who mated first.

Albert,Max (2141) - Hummel,Mark (2085) [C57]
ACTCA Rapid - 17 August 2021 https://lichess.org/pnMu1nhw, 17.08.2021

Returning to online chess

 The ACT Government has extended the Covid lockdown for another 2 weeks, so there will be no face to face chess before the 3rd of September. The ACT Chess Association has decided to organise some online events in the meantime, to keep everyone happy and (chess) active. 

The events will be held on the lichess server and will probably operate in a similar way to last year. To sign up you need a Lichess account (always free) and then apply to join the https://lichess.org/team/actca-fast-chess-club When you apply to join, please supply your real name, and which local chess club or activity you are connected to.

The first event (a 5 round rapid) starts tomorrow (17 August), and depending on the level of interest, other events (using different formats) will be organised later.

Why 'we' play serious chess

 I was part of a FIDE Planning and Development meeting this morning for Oceania, and at some point the topic of online/hybrid chess came up. Part of this discussion revolved around how popular/worthwhile is Hybrid Chess. The general consensus (from the people who had been involved in hybrid events) was that it was a lot of extra work for little extra reward. 

The main reason given for this was that it didn't offer ratings and titles. Of course this is due to the fact that it doesn't exactly match the format for OTB events, but there is also an undercurrent concerning the risk of cheating. 

The slightly strange thing is that players seem a little happier to play low key events for online ratings only, but not higher class events for no rating. The Joker may well have got it right when he said "If you are good at something, never do it for free", which in this case is about being paid in rating points.

Canberra in lockdown - 12 August 2021

 Despite the many pointed barbs directed at the Socialist Republic of Canberra, we (both the government and community) have done very well at handling the Covid pandemic. However this good run has come to an end, with a Covid case being confirmed today. As a consequence the ACT is in lockdown for the next 7 days, which means a number of chess events have been cancelled or postponed. 

A non comprehensive list includes

• Tuggeranong, Canberra and Gungahlin Chess clubs will not meet next week
• Street Chess will not run on Saturday 14 August 2021.
• School coaching programs will not run for 7 days (due to schools being closed)
• The 2021 ACT Secondary Girls Chess Championship will be postponed to a future date

Assuming the shutdown prevents further community transmission  of Covid, things should be back to normal by Friday of next week.